


Stardust and Honey and Hope

by Daughter_of_the_TARDIS



Series: The Songs of the Universe [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Babies, Bechdel Test Pass, Cameos, Character Death, F/F, F/M, Family, Family Issues, Female Friendship, Fluff, Humor, Time Babies, Time Tot, Time Travel, lots of Adventure, lots of cameos, slight angst, some flirting, sorry in advance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-02-12 01:12:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12948099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daughter_of_the_TARDIS/pseuds/Daughter_of_the_TARDIS
Summary: The story of the Doctor's daughter, and all the trouble that she can get into.  Her father once said that 'trouble is just the bits in-between'... she is determined to prove him wrong.You do not have to read the others in this series for this story to make sense.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just an fyi - their daughter's Gallifreyan name has a nickname, kind of like ‘Theta’ for the Doctor. Her nickname is Mira.

It was a universally recognized fact that Professor River Song, head of the Archaeology Department at Luna University, was brilliant - she was both one of the most engaging professors at her alma mater, and one of the most respected. 

Her classes were some of the hardest that there were, but no one minded because they learned so much from her.

She was a tough teacher, but she wasn't strict. Unlike most lecturers, she was engaging and always had her classes undivided attention. Despite how busy her schedule could be, she always had time for students, even if they weren't hers. Everyone knew that if you had a problem, you could always talk to Professor Song about it, without having to worry about any fallout.

She was understanding if a student had a problem with their computer systems, but may the gods have mercy on your soul if you didn't do your work because you were too lazy to.

She was the teacher that everyone either wanted to be like, or wanted to be with - or sometimes even both.

But no one knew a thing about her. They knew that she was a professor of archaeology, of course, and that she was an alumna of Luna University, but not much else. Everyone knew that she was a major flirt, even more so than normal for the 51st century. They knew that she had published over a dozen archaeological studies, and went on several digs a year, but they didn't know anything personal about her.

Most professors would tell you at least one thing about themselves on the first day - their favorite food, the name of their pet, their favourite colour, something. They would drop little bits of information about themselves into their lessons, tell funny little anecdotes about their day-to-day lives. But not Professor Song.

Even her TA didn't know that much about her, and they had been her teaching assistant for two years now.

Until today, that is.

 

8888

Just like every morning, Professor River Song’s students walked into her lecture hall to find their professor ready and waiting for them. Just like every morning, they got to their seats, sat down, and got themselves ready for the day's lecture. And just like every morning, they promised themselves that this time, they wouldn't drool on their papers because the professor had bent over to pick something up.

However, the main reason this particular morning was different from any other was that she paused partway through her lecture when the door flew open. 

The professor was about 45 minutes into that day’s lecture: "The Emergence of Extraterrestrial Life in 21st Century Earth society," when there was a loud crash out in the hall. Some of the students glanced over for just a moment, to make sure that everything was okay, before turning their attention back to the professor. She hadn't even flinched at the noise, choosing instead to continue with her lecture as if nothing had happened.

"- Torchwood Three, led by the enigmatic Captain Jack Harkness, was one of the foremost figures behind the human races' revelation as to the existence of alien life, as well as one of its most vigilant guardians. Along with Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, one of the founding members of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce; his daughter, Kate Stewart, chief scientific officer of UNIT; and Miss Sarah Jane Smith, who -" Professor Song was cut off by the door of the lecture hall banging open. Every head whirled around, wanting to see who would be idiotic enough to interrupt the Professor.

A young looking man had stumbled through the door, and the students nearly laughed at how ridiculous he looked. He was wearing trousers which were too short and held up by red suspenders, a button down shirt with a bow tie around his neck, and a tweed jacket with patches on the elbows.

“River, she's hungry again and we're out of bottles. Also, I may have accidentally broken the hallway,” he called out, not even bothering to keep the real wooden door from slamming into the wall. Luxuries like that were rare anymore, and so he received quite a few dirty looks from the students. He didn't look up, keeping his eyes on where he was walking to keep from tripping over anything as he made his way down the stairs. Almost as soon as he came in and started talking, the students started whispering amongst themselves, trying to figure out exactly who this strange man was and who he was in relation to their archeology professor. 

It was only when they heard the sound of a baby softly crying that the students noticed the second person who had come into the room. A tiny baby was nestled in the man's arms, a familiar tuft of wispy blonde curls sprouting from her head.

Professor Song didn't even look surprised. If anything, she just looked irritated and sighed, muttering something under her breath. That in itself was a surprise and sent her students into another round of gossip. Normally, if someone interrupted her lectures, Professor Song would send them packing with a few well-timed insults. 

But this time, the professor smiled, moving out from behind her podium to take the child from the man when he held her out to his wife. “Alright, my love.” She said, reaching out and taking the baby from him. She hushed the baby, bouncing gently up and down.

As soon as the baby was in her arms, her cries softened, turning into laughter after barely a minute. The man pouted, folding his arms over his chest. He was laughing a moment later though, when the baby reached up and grabbed onto one of the professor's curls, pulling it taught before letting go. River grimaced, pulling the baby's hands out of her hair even as she glared at the man. “Very funny, my love.” She said, and while her tone was sharp her eyes held nothing but fondness.

“Well, dear…” he said bashfully, spreading his hands. “You have to admit that it is fun to play with.” With that, he reached up and did the exact same thing, laughing along with the baby this time.

“I have to get going - there's a revolution on Metebelis Three that needs my help.” He said softly. “I'll see you tonight.” He smiled, gently pressing a kiss to the professor's cheek. 

“I'll expect you back next month, then.” Professor Song replied, teasing him, although her students noticed that she looked slightly upset by the news he would be leaving.

He looked offended. “Oi! My driving is not that bad.”

River rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, dear.” He preened, smugly straightening his bow tie before pulling his jacket back into place. He leaned over, tickling the baby’s toes and making her giggle, showing off her toothy grin. A few students ‘aww'ed at the sight and the man blushed, while their professor just smirked.

“Now you be good for Mummy, Mira.” the man said, leaning back in to talk to the baby some more. The baby babbled something in response, reaching out to pull on his bow tie. “Yes, of course, I'll bring you a present. There's nothing wrong with bow ties!”

There was more babbling from the baby, and some of the students exchanged baffled looks. It almost seemed as though he thought he was actually having a conversation with a baby.

“No, I won't bring you back a gun. Honestly River, what are you teaching our daughter?” he huffed, tapping her nose in fond exasperation.

Professor Song smirked, bouncing slightly to make the baby laugh. “It’s never too early for her to learn self-defense, my love.”

“Yes, well... no teaching her to insult Sontarans until I get back.” 

“I make no promises.”

He grimaced as he turned to leave and came face-to-face with the class. “I forgot you were teaching future archaeologists.” He mused, then addressed the class. “My condolences on your choice in career.”

“Doctor.” River warned, a hint of steel in her voice and ice in her eyes. “Be nice to my students.”

“Telling them that they've made the wrong choice is being nice!” He argued, arms flailing as he spoke.

“Oh, and I suppose your job is so much better,” she said, her voice practically dripping with sarcasm.

“You don’t seem to mind it.” he shot back, as smug as could be.

“Sweetie, shut up.”

“Not a chance.”

8888

Once the Doctor finally left, the classroom went completely silent as the students tried to process what had just happened.

“Right.” River said, patiently untangling a small chubby hand from her curls as she walked back down to the front of the lecture hall, the baby on her hip waving to some of the students. “Where were we, then?”

“Professor Song?” One of her students asked, looking very confused by everything that had just happened.

“Yes?” River asked absentmindedly, flipping through her notes to see where exactly it was that she had stopped her lecture.

“I don’t mean to be rude or anything,” the Drahvin said, sounding slightly awkward. “But since when do you have a baby?”

River froze. In her timeline, it had been over two years now since she had first realized she was pregnant. After she had given birth, she stayed on the TARDIS with her husband and daughter for another year or so, traveling together - just the three of them and the stars. It had been perfect. But eventually, the universe had needed saving again, pulling them back into the thrill of adventure. They had gone on a few world-saving adventures - stopping evil plots, getting rid of monsters - all with Catherine strapped to their chests, happily commenting on everything that she saw in Baby. Eventually, though, they had had one too many close calls and River put her foot down. It was time for her and Catherine to go back to Luna.

Luckily for them, because of the Old Girl’s time travel, it had only been about a week since her class had last seen her. Since time travel was banned unless you were a Time Agent - and no one was supposed to know that the Doctor was still alive - she had to think up a lie, and quickly.

Or, she could take a page out of her husband's book, and dodge the subject completely.

For once, she chose to do the latter. She could already feel just how smug he would be when he found out.

“Class, this is my daughter Catherine. Catherine, this is Mummy’s class.” she made quick introductions, before turning back to her lecture. “Now then. Miss Sarah Jane Smith, who saved the world every day from the attic of her house in Ealing -”

8888

If there was one thing that never changed no matter what century it was, it was the gossiping ability of students. So it shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did when the entire campus seemed to know about the ‘mysterious man who had given Professor Song a child before disappearing’ only minutes after her class had ended. She had barely managed to make it to her office with Catherine asleep in her arms, her glare towards anyone that even looked in their direction the only thing that kept them from being bombarded with questions.

“River Song!” Her door was flung open so hard that it smashed into the wall, making the frames on the walls rattle.

The curly-haired archaeologist turned, clutching her sleeping daughter to her chest even as her free hand quickly drew her gun - she had started wearing it under a perception filter as soon as she found out that she was pregnant. Her family might have defeated the Silents, but she and the Doctor had countless other enemies throughout the universe. 

The man in the doorway froze, and she relaxed, lowering her gun, even as his eyes locked in on the baby in her arms. “Hello, Malcolm.” She said, smiling softly. “What's going on?”

“I had something that I wanted to ask you, but then I heard a rumor…” he hasn't taken his eyes off of Catherine the entire time he was talking. River rolled her eyes, walking over to the sofa up against one wall, carefully laying Catherine down.

“Malcolm Pace, meet my daughter.” River Song said, smiling softly down at the sleeping child. She was the very image of a proud mother.

Malcolm stuck his hands in his pockets, looking around her office. “And… what about her father?” He asked awkwardly.

River stiffened. “Why do you ask?” She asked carefully, pushing a curl out of her face as she turned to face Malcolm. They had known each other for years, ever since they were still students. He could still be a Dalek puppet or some sort of shape-shifting race.

“Just wondering if he's… still in the picture, or…” he trailed off, shifting awkwardly. He couldn't help but flinch at the strange way she was looking at him - like she wasn't sure what to see him as at the moment. There was a small voice in the back of his head that was telling him to run, to stay far away from River Song. 

“Oh.” River said, understanding what he was trying to hint at. “Yes, he just left this morning to go on a… business trip. He's a bit more flighty than I wish at times,” she sighed, “but he absolutely adores our daughter.”

“Alright,” Malcolm said, and she pretended like she didn't see the flash of rejection on his face. “I'll just… go, then.”

She hummed in acknowledgment, keeping one eye on him and one on her daughter as he slipped out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These little bits of fluff are from Catherine's childhood, before any actual plot begins. It'll say at the top of each how old she is. Some of the ideas for these came from Tumblr posts, or stories my friends have told me.  
> Also, please remember that Time Tots are a lot more developed than humans of their age - my theory is that they're the same until then turn two, and then they start to mentally grow at a much higher speed than humans. So they might look like they're three, but have the mind of an extremely smart ten year old. This is from the canon that Time Lords start at the academy - with classes like quantum physics and calculating spacio-temporal coordinates - at eight years old.  
> Physically, they develop normally until they hit eighteen or so. Then they slow down - a lot, to the point that they don't really age unless they want to.

Age 2

She was going to explode. She was going to explode and die and that would be the end of her. There would be no more adventures on the TARDIS, no more time and space, no more fish fingers and custard and shooting practises. 

“Now, stop being so dramatic, my love.” Her mother said, running a hand through her curls. “It’s only a bit of the flu.”

“No its not, Mummy.” Catherine replied, curling further into the blankets that she had piled on top of herself. Only the tip of her nose and her eyes stuck out from overtop, her curls frizzing out of control. “I’m dying.”

“Honestly, of all the traits to get from your father, you had to get his overdramatics.” River laughed. Inwardly, however, she was panicking. She had no idea what to do - Catherine had never been sick before. The worst she had gotten was a few sneezes, and that was fixed quickly enough with a trip to the medbay on board the TARDIS. But now the Doctor was off traveling again, and he wasn’t picking up his phone. She couldn’t risk taking Catherine to hospital - no one had figured out that the Doctor was still alive yet, and she planned to keep it that way for as long as she could. Not to mention what would happen if the wrong people found out that the Doctor had a daughter. She couldn’t even give her any medicine to help her except for cough syrup - most of the cold medicine in the fifty-first century was aspirin-based.

So she sat back and did everything that she could, trying to reach her husband once more.

8888

Age 2 ½ 

Professor Song’s class groaned as they entered the room, seeing the packets of paper already waiting on their desks. She was the only professor that still even used paper anymore - the rest of the university had switched to e-paper centuries ago. 

Her daughter sat at the professor's desk, scribbling away happily. Slowly, the class had gotten used to seeing the little blonde girl in the classroom most days. She would sit and color while her mother lectured, and on occasion she would act like she was listening - at least that was what they assumed. In reality, she was comparing what her mother was teaching her class - what the history textbooks said happened - and what her mother had told her actually happened. The two versions usually matched up, but every once in a while there was an event that had happened completely differently than the textbooks said it did.

Today, however, she was watching the class intently, a goofy grin on her face. River's lips twitched into a small smile every time she looked at her daughter - she looked almost identical to her father when she smiled like that.

Throughout the test she watched the class, her eyes dancing with laughter. Her curls seemed bigger, and River wondered if her husband has always been right - if her hair was big because it was full of secrets.

It took a while for some of her students to realize what was happening, but when they did, they looked at the professor in confusion. She just gave them a small smirk, giving no indication that anything was going on.

As she graded the tests later that night, River couldn’t help her laughter. If only her students could have seen their faces as they took their tests.

She had started letting Catherine make up the answer sheets by colouring in the scan sheets - she would colour in the bubbles, and that would be the answer for that question. If she coloured in multiple bubbles in the row, that question would have multiple answers. 

This time, the Time Tot had made every answer D, except for the second to last one. That one was A.

Their expressions were priceless.

8888

Age 3

“There's my phone number on the fridge, and there are fish fingers in the oven…” Professor Song said, going over her list for the seventh time since her graduate student had arrived at the little cottage that she and her daughter called home when they weren't onboard the TARDIS. As far as they knew, no one had ever been invited into the professor's house before, and so they were curiously taking in every detail that they could - from the blue front door to the slight nicks in the floorboards. Children's toys were scattered across the floor, but there was also an array of scientific equipment spread across the kitchen table. A print of a classic Earth painting hung on one of the walls, the paint slightly chipped. The words 'for Amy' could be clearly seen on the vase, but they had no idea what the significance behind it might be.

Then there was the professor herself. Nine times out of ten, they saw her in a blouse and trousers, with her hair pulled up into a bun and simple flats on. Occasionally she would wear heels and a skirt, but that was only on rare occasions.

Tonight, her hair was loose, her corkscrew curls flying every which way. Her dress was black with a plunging neckline, and her red heels clicked against the floor as she walked.

“We'll be fine, professor.” They said, trying to calm the professor down. “She's only three - how much trouble could she possibly get into, anyway?”

They could have sworn she muttered something like ‘you wouldn't believe me if I told you’ under her breath.

They both stopped when they heard a strange noise from outside, and her daughter squealed. The professor rolled her eyes even as she smiled. “He always leaves the brakes on.” She muttered fondly, making her way back into the living room.

Catherine practically flew to the door, struggling with the handle for a moment before she finally got it open. She squealed in delight again once she saw who was on the other side, and they picked her up in a hug, pressing kisses to both of her cheeks. “Daddy!” She laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Hello, Kitty!” he said, spinning her around, and she pouted. 

“Daddy,” she said, bottom lip stuck out. “Don’t call me that!”

They came through the door, and the professor swept over, pressing a kiss to the man's cheek. “You're late, sweetie.” she said, arching an eyebrow.

“Sorry, dear.” He said, smiling sheepishly. His eyes tracked over her, and his sheepish look turned into a grin. “Yowzah.” He said appreciatively, pulling her into another kiss.

“Yuck, Daddy.” Catherine said, pulling a face. She was clearly used to the two of them acting this way, because she didn't even blink as she said it.  
The man was tall, with brown hair and a large chin. He wore what Brenal believed was called a ‘top hat’ and ‘tail', and smiled as he pulled away from the professor. 

“You be good for Brenal tonight, do you understand?” The professor said, her voice stern. “We’ll be home later, I promise.” Her daughter looked close to tears already. 

“I don’t want you to go, Mummy.” She said, her voice wavering. “I want to come with you.”

“I'm sorry sweetie, but you have to stay here.” She said, kneeling down to be on the same level as her daughter. “This is an adventure for Mummy and Daddy, alright?”

“That's what I'm saying, Mummy.” Catherine replied. “Its an adventure for you and Daddy… and me!”

River laughed gently. “No, sweetheart. Just your Daddy and I.”

The man gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, tickling her belly before standing back up. “Be good, Kitty.” he said, smoothing a hand over her hair. 

She pouted, her eyes filling with tears even as she clutched her stuffed animal even tighter. Brenal had no idea what it was supposed to be - it looked like a marshmallow with arms and legs. “No, Daddy.” She sobbed, throwing herself at him. She wrapped herself around his leg, burying her face in his trousers. “I don't want you to go. You just gotted here.”

“We'll be back soon, Kitty.” The man said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I promise. Then we can all go on an adventure, yeah?”

“To the markets on Tiamat?” She asked, her voice small.

“Tiannamat.” He corrected her. He nodded, smiling softly. “And yes - I'll take you anywhere you like.” He promised. “Maybe even the Spacey Zoomer at Hedgewick’s World.”

River snorted. “You spoil her.” She scolded, but her lips were twitching in amusement.

“Always.” The man replied, giving her a boyish grin.

8888

As soon as the professor and her - he wasn't sure what the man was, actually. Boyfriend? Consort? Life mate, perhaps? Whatever he was, as soon as they left Catherine stomped off, dragging her toy along behind her.

They found her in the kitchen, sitting at the table. A small screwdriver was in her hand, and her tongue was sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she worked on whatever it was. “What are you working on?” they asked, not sure what they were supposed to do. The professor hadn't said anything about what to do if her three year old daughter started playing with tools. They didn't know much about human hatchlings, but they were pretty sure that human spawn weren't supposed to be this developed at such a young age.  
She didn't even bother to look up from what she was doing. “A machine.” She put down the screwdriver, grabbing a tiny pair of pliers instead. 

“Do you need any help?” They asked, slightly nervous that she would say yes. They were an archaeology student, not an engineering one, and as such had absolutely no idea what she was doing.

“No.”

They let out a quiet noise of relief, and she huffed. She looked up at him, her hazel eyes icy. “Can you go away, please?” She asked crossly. “I'm trying to do something very clever and I don't need you to be staring at me while I do it!”

8888

After about an hour of quiet, Catherine came out of the kitchen, a bright smile on her face. They studied her carefully, unsure if she was going to snap again. She looked up at him, smiling shyly. “Sorry I was a grumpy face.” She said, her voice quiet. “But I finisheded it.” She said proudly. “Wanna see?”

She started the machine, and they winced, sure that it was about to explode. It was a strange looking machine, with just the one button on the side to start it. It whirred for a minute more, and then started working.

Bubbles.

She had made a bubble machine. They watched in delight as more and more bubbles poured out of the machine, floating throughout the kitchen. Catherine was giggling in glee, watching the bubbles float through the air with wide eyes.

She smiled up at them, but they noticed a gleam in her eyes that made them uneasy. “Keep watching.” She said, still smiling at them. They had finally realized what it was that was making them nervous - it was the spark of mischief in the little girl's eyes. That spark only grew as more and more bubbles filled the room, and that was when they realized why she was so excited in the first place.

The bubbles weren't popping. Instead, they were being absorbed into each other, creating a single bubble that kept growing larger and larger.

8888

When the Doctor and River got home, they were nervous, to say the least. They expected Brenal to come running outside, happy to give them back their child. They knew she could be a handful at the best of times - she was their daughter, after all. 

But everything was quiet. There was no screaming, no crying, no massive fires burning out of control. Instead, the house was dark, with just one light on in the living room.

Catherine was sitting on the living room floor, pigtails swaying as she played with her stuffies. From the look of things, she was acting out one of their adventures with the dolls that the TARDIS had made for her.

“Mummy, Daddy!” Catherine cheered once she noticed them, running over and wrapping herself around her father's leg again.

“Hello, Kitty.” her dad said, attempting to pick her up and press a kiss to her cheek. Instead he tripped, flailing slightly and catching them both at the last second. River frowned at him, but Catherine just curled up, giggling happily. “Did you have fun while we were gone?”

She nodded, pigtails bouncing. “I made bubbles!” She said, smiling with pure glee.

“Catherine,” River said, her voice hard. The Doctor looked at her, and there was a fire in her eyes that made him wary. “Where's Brenal?”

His eyes widened slightly as he realized that his wife was right - the babysitter was nowhere to be found. Their daughter smiled at her mother innocently. “Who?” 

“Catherine.” The Doctor warned, attempting to glare at his child. She just smiled, completely unaffected.

“Catherine Amelia Song, where is your babysitter?” River asked impatiently.

She pouted, glaring at the floor for a second before telling them. “On the ceiling.” She muttered. Her parents looked at each other for a moment, eyes widening before they looked up.

The Zygon was stuck to the ceiling in a large, translucent bubble. It seemed to be soundproof, because they could see him screaming for help, even though no sound actually managed to come through.

River looked at her daughter, her features stern. “Oh, you are so grounded.”

8888

It took them a little over two hours to clean everything up and put Catherine to bed.

“The next time we go on a date,” River said, practically throwing herself down on the sofa that still had a few bubbles on it, “we're having a companion babysit. At least they know how to handle a hyperactive Time Lord.”

The Doctor sighed, too tired to even think about arguing with her. He settled down next to his wife, and she repositioned herself so that she was curled up on his lap. It only took him a few seconds to end up with a hand threaded through her curls, and she smiled. “Yes, dear.”


	3. Chapter 3

8888

Age 3 ½ 

“Time for bed, Catherine.” River said gently, already bracing herself for the argument that she knew was coming. While she and the Doctor didn’t have to sleep anywhere near as often as humans did, Catherine still had to sleep at least six hours a night because she was growing.

Bedtimes on the TARDIS were easier, because the Old Girl would usually ease her to sleep with little fuss at all. Both the timeship and her granddaughter seemed to enjoy the time that they spent together that way, and so neither of her parents ever interfered. But now there was no TARDIS to help with bedtime. Not for the first time, River found herself irritated at her husband - she found herself wondering why he couldn’t just stay at home with them.

Instantly, white-hot guilt filled her. She knew that her asking the Doctor to stay in one place for too long would be the same as if he asked her to give up archaeology. It would be a betrayal of the worst sort, and that was one thing that she would never do. She could never knowingly betray her Doctor. But the truth was, the time between his visits was getting longer. It had been at least seven months since that floppy-haired idiot had shown up, and she was beginning to get impatient.

“No, Mummy! I don’t want to go to bed!” Catherine cried, her eyes rimmed with red. Hot, fat tears rolled down her cheeks, and River nearly rolled her eyes. At one point she may have given in, but that point was long ago. She had been up for thirty-six hours straight, and the effects were finally starting to show. 

“Catherine Amelia Song, go to your bed now.” River snapped. The words came out sharper than she meant them to, but it worked all the same. The three year old ran through the house, giggling to herself as she climbed into bed. River followed after her, smiling at the image of big blue eyes and an adipose plushie.

“Can you tell me a story, please?” she asked, hugging her adipose just a tiny bit tighter. 

“Alright, my love.” She agreed, settling herself on the bed next to her daughter. “What story do you want to hear?”

“A spoiler, please!” Catherine replied, pulling out her worn and faded blue diary. Pages were worn and sticking out in a few places, and she had even shoved a few extra ones in there. No matter how much abuse the little blue book went through, it never fell apart - it refused to break.

“Now where have you been hiding that?” River asked, the corner of her mouth twitching up in amusement.

“Spoilers.” she replied, with as much smug enthusiasm as a three-year-old was capable of. River chuckled, a deep throaty sound.

“Alright.” she said, opening up her diary. She flipped through the pages, looking for a story that hopefully wouldn't scar Catherine for life. “Any suggestions, my love?”

“The one where you shoot Daddy’s hat!”

“I’m afraid there are a lot of those.” River laughed, and Catherine giggled with her. Can you narrow it down a bit, please?”

“The one with the magic box and the pair of ducks!” 

“Paradox.” she corrected, smiling at the mistake. River smiled, although it was slightly strained. “Alright, my love.” she flipped through her diary, quickly finding the right page. She took a deep breath, then started the story.

“Once Upon A Time, your father took Amy -”

“That’s Nan, isn’t it Mummy?” Catherine asked from where she was tucked away under the covers. River’s heart sank a bit at the look on her daughter’s face. The young time tot had always loved to hear stories about Amelia Pond and Rory Williams. She had wanted to meet her grandparents since she could remember, and the guilt always intensified when she remembered that her parents would never be able to meet their granddaughter.

“Yes, sweetie.” River said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Now hush and let me read, alright?”

And so she told the tale of the Pandorica. She explained getting a phone call from Winston Churchill. She told her about Planet One, and graffiting the oldest cliff face in the universe because someone refused to pick up his phone. She told her about grand speeches and impossible heroes, of a love so strong that it lasted over two thousand years of waiting. 

Catherine reacted in all the right places - making faces at the thought of her Mummy kissing people, giggling at her Daddy wearing a fez and laughing even harder at the thought of her Nan helping her Mummy shoot the hat. She whimpered in fear when she heard about the Dalek, cheering when it ‘mysteriously’ died.

“The End.” she said, trying to keep her voice low as she shut the diary and eased her way out of the bed. 

“One more story, please!” Catherine begged. She sat straight up in her bed, bouncing slightly as she did.

River smiled, running her hand through her daughter’s hair. “One more.” she agreed.

She laid her back down, tucking her in again and making sure that the old Adipose plush was right next to her. “Once upon a time,” she began, pressing her fingertips to her little girl’s temple. She quickly drew up the concept of _sleep_ , sending it into the front of her daughter’s brain. Catherine was asleep in an instant, her breathing slow and even.

“The end.” she said softly, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

8888

Age 4

“Catherine Song, get back here!” Her babysitter yelled, and the students that knew her laughed, moving out of the way of the rambunctious child. Those that didn't know who she was were either informed by their friends, or shot her irritated looks as she pushed past them. Her blonde curls bounced as she ran, giggling to herself as she cut through the throngs of students that were either staying for summer courses, or prospective students there for a tour. Her mother was leading one of the tours, which was why she was currently running from a babysitter. Her bare feet tickled as she ran through the grass, quickly looking behind her to see where her sitter was. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw the pink-skinned humanoid close on her heels. Her facial markers were practically glowing blue, she was so angry. That, of course, only made Catherine run faster.

She made it a few more steps before she ran into something, bouncing off of it. She landed on the grass, pushing a lock of hair out of her face as she held her head with her other hand. “Oi!” She shouted, glaring up at whoever it was - the lights of the biodome that they lived in were shining into her eyes, keeping her from properly seeing what it was. 

It was then that she recognized the humming in the back of her mind. She smiled as she stood up, thinking that she could hide in the TARDIS. Then her face fell as she remembered something important..

She wouldn't be able to get into the TARDIS - she didn't have a key yet. Her daddy said that he would get her one when she was older. But as she checked over her shoulder again, she could see her babysitter scanning the crowd for her. She had to work to keep from laughing - if her mummy knew just how terrible a job her babysitter was doing, she would be furious.

She turned back to the doors, trying to figure out how she could get inside. She knew that her daddy kept a spare key somewhere, but she had no idea where that was. So she tried the next best thing.

She knocked.

It took a moment or two, but the door swung open and her father poked his head out, looking around in confusion. “Hello?” he called out, looking around the campus green. “Who’s there?”

She darted past him, trying to be as quiet as she could. The sound of her bare feet on the metal floor echoed around the console room. The lights around the console lit up, and the Old Girl let out a pleased hum. Catherine giggled, mentally asking the TARDIS to be quiet, please, she was trying to hide. She went underneath the console, where she knew there were plenty of nooks and crannies for her to hide in. She ended up sitting in the little swing that he had set up for when he needed to make repairs. Of course, it only took him about two minutes to find her down there.

“Daddy!” She cheered, laughing when he scooped her up into his arms.

“Hello, sweetheart.” The Doctor said, scooping her up into a hug. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he spun her around, making her laugh. “How have you been?”

His daughter huffed, rolling her eyes in a way that he knew she got from her mother. “Bored.” She whined. “Luna is so normal. Are you here to take us on an adventure?”

The Doctor smiled, his eyes crinkling as he swung her around so that she could sit on his shoulders. She rested her chin on the top of his head, breathing in the scent of time that seemed to surround both of her parents. It was a smell that she hoped she had someday - she quite liked it. The Old Girl flashed her lights again, happy that her granddaughter was there. Catherine smiled in response, sending her a telepathic message. _I missed you too._

“Where's your mum, Kitty?” Her dad asked, walking towards the doors and outside… where her babysitter was still looking for her.

She thought quickly, trying to talk her way out of trouble like her daddy always did. “She's giving a tour right now, so let's wait for her here! I know! We can make fish fingers and custard for lunch, and bring some to Mummy to surprise her. Or, we could go on an adventure! We could explore rooms on the TARDIS. Or we could-”

“Kitty,” the Doctor began, trying to hide the smile that was forming on his face as he pulled her down from his shoulders. “Is there a reason you’re trying to keep me in here, instead of going outside?”

She looked up at him, eyes wide. “No, Daddy.” she said, curls bouncing as she shook her head. “I just misseded you.”

He could feel his heart melting as she stared up at him with wide blue eyes. “Oh, alright then.” He said fondly, dropping her to the floor. “Come along, Song.”

He laughed as she tugged on his hand, dragging him along behind her. “Come on, Daddy!” 

“Hold your horses, dear.” he said fondly. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since she had seen him, and he wasn’t really sure if he even wanted to know. It had been at least five years for him - it was terrible, he knew. But there was a part of him that was so terrified by the thought of being a father that he spent more time running from it than anything else. 

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River found them hours later, playing with the anti-grav. He was laughing at how his daughter’s curls took up even more space than they usually did. Catherine was laughing at how he managed to trip over himself in midair.

“Funny I should find you two here.” she drawled, leaning against the doorframe. “I just had to convince a student of mine that she wasn’t going to be kicked out of the doctoral program for losing my daughter.”

“Why would you have to do that, dear?” the Doctor asked, only half paying attention. The rest of his energy was being spent trying to paddle his way through the anti-grav so that he could get over to Catherine and tickle her.

“Because someone disappeared inside of a sentient time-space machine and left her babysitter searching for her.”

That got his attention. “Hang on. Kitty...” he said, turning to look at the Time Tot still floating next to him. “You told me that your mummy knew where you were!”

“Not exactly.” she hedged. “I said that she was doing a tour, not that she knew where I was.”

“And you didn’t think it the tiniest bit suspicious that she didn’t want to leave the TARDIS?” her mummy asked, looking at her dad in exasperation.

The little Time Tot giggled, trying to muffle the sound behind her hands. The Doctor turned to look at her, an expression of betrayal written all over his face.

“You little… Dalek.” he huffed, tapping her on the nose. “Getting me into trouble with your mum.”

“Sorry, Daddy.” she said, even though the smirk on her face said the complete opposite. 

Slowly, a smile spread across his face. “Oh, alright then.” he said, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. He hit the switch to turn the gravity back on, and they both fell to the floor in disheveled heaps. “Go on, get dressed. You know where the wardrobe room is. You too, Professor.” he made his way over to his wife, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“I’m taking you dancing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to warn you all now - 11 will not be winning any Dad-of-the-Year awards. He's a bit too flighty, a bit too good at running away from his problems still. It's a habit that I think he picked up from ten, and then kept it going. Luckily by the time he becomes 12 that instinct is mostly gone.


	4. Chapter 4

The three Songs lasted a record three days before all hell broke loose in the form of an exploded kitchen. 

It had mostly been taxing for River, in the end. She had had to deal with her husband being nervous around their daughter, and their daughter’s fears that her father would up and leave at any given moment. Finally, she couldn’t take any more. 

“Sweetie, you can’t keep doing this.” she told him, late one night as they were curled up in bed. It was after one in the morning, and the bio-dome over Luna had turned dark hours ago. They lay under the covers of the queen-sized bed, his arms wrapped around her. Her hair took up nearly an entire pillow on its own, and he kept twisting a single curl around his finger.

“Doing what?” he asked, although he knew the answer. He was keeping their daughter at an arms length - showing up only every sixth months or so at the most, staying for only a day or two at a time. If Catherine asked him to stay longer, he would quickly rattle off some excuse about having something that he needed to do before disappearing once more.

“She believes in you more than anything else, you know.” she told him quietly. The room was dark, with only the light of the stars above Luna coming through the window to light the night. Their legs were tangled together, her forehead resting against his chest. “You’re her hero.”

“Nah.” he said softly, kissing her forehead. “You’re the one that’s here for her, the one who takes care of her… I’m just the daft man with the cool bow tie who pops in and takes her on adventures.”

“But you could be so much more.” River told him. “Why do you keep running?” she sat up in the bed, the blankets pooling around her waist. Gathering her knees up under her chest, she rested her head on them as she stared at the bedroom door.

He sat up as well, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. There were a few minutes of silence before he spoke. His voice was quiet in her ear when he finally said something. “I can’t get close to another child just to lose them again.” he murmured, his voice soft. “I can’t lose another child, period. I’m not… I’m not strong enough to go through that.”

Pain was practically emanating off of him in waves as he remembered the family that he had lost. Susan might have been safe from the Time War when it erupted, but the rest of his remaining grandchildren weren’t quite as lucky. He didn’t even know how many other family members that he had had left on Gallifrey by the time the Time War ended. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, either.

“You won’t have to, my love.” she said, letting him pull her backwards into his chest. “You seem to have forgotten something rather important.”

“Oh really?” he asked, his breath tickling her bare shoulder. “And what’s that?”

“We already know that she lives.” His mind drew up the image of a smiling redhead, green eyes sparkling and hair flying out behind her. “She’s not going to leave, Doctor.”

“Can you promise that?” he whispered, the barest hint of hope slowly creeping into his voice.

“No.” River admitted honestly. “But can anyone?”

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Catherine woke up the next morning to her father tickling her. She squealed with laughter, curling up in a ball to try and protect herself. “Wake up!” the Doctor said, laughing with her.

“Daddy!” she shrieked, still giggling like mad even after he stopped tickling her. “What're you doing?”

“Come along, Kitty!” the Doctor cheered, picking up his daughter and putting her up so that she sat on his shoulders. The little girl squealed in delight, grabbing onto his ears to keep herself from toppling over.

“Where are we going, Daddy?” She asked, and he couldn’t help the smile that was on his face.

“First, breakfast.” He said, carefully making his way towards the kitchen, making sure that he didn't accidentally bump her head on the ceiling. River would actually kill him if that happened. “Then, to the TARDIS for an adventure.”

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A little while later, the Song women were heading back to the console room - Catherine skipping along, babbling excitedly, as River followed her, smiling softly. She stifled a laugh as her daughter fell over in an attempt to twirl and make the skirt of her dress flare out around her. She was very proud that she had picked out her own dress and only needed a little bit of help to put it on.

She had picked out her mother's dress, too, insisting that they had to match. They were a deep blue, with a full skirt that bustled in the back, long sleeves, and a button up collar that was edged with black lace. It had trim and edging done in plaid in the same deep blue color and black. The only difference between the dresses was that Catherine's was slightly simplified, with no underskirts and petticoats with it.

The Doctor was waiting for them when they got to the console room, doing his madcap dance around the Time Rotor. He grinned at both of them, stopping what he was doing to watch them.

“Are we there yet?” Catherine asked, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. Be laughed as he watched her, her eyes shut as she talked to the TARDIS. It always amazed him just how strong her connection to the Old Girl really was - it was almost as strong as his connection was, just in a different way. His connection to the TARDIS as her pilot was more mechanically based, helping her to let him know about whatever repairs might need to be made. On the other hand, there was the connection that River and Catherine had to her, as her Child and Granddaughter. There's was more emotional, allowing for passing feelings and vague warnings between them all.

“Look at my beautiful girls!” He said happily, holding his elbow out to his wife, who slipped her arm through his. Catherine wasn't really listening to him, though. It had been a long time since she had had a chance to go to another planet or time, and she was dying to explore.

“Come on, Mummy, Daddy!” Catherine said, too excited to wait any longer. As soon as her mummy had shown her the dresses in the wardrobe room, she knew where they were going - Number Thirteen Paternoster Row, to visit her aunts Jenny and Vastra. They would babysit her occasionally, if her mummy had to go on an expedition and her daddy wasn't picking up his phone. Her favorite was Strax, though. He taught her military tactics, and let her play with his scissor grenades.

“Wait for us, sweetheart.” the Doctor called after her, but she was too excited to listen. She ran out the door without another thought, only stopping when the smell of garbage, rotting food, and horse manure hit her nose. She gagged reflexively, taking a moment to collect herself. She always forgot that the late nineteenth century still wasn't the best when it came to sewage control. The sound of footsteps on the cobblestone streets got louder.

“Child, get away from there!” A reedy voice snapped, drawing her attention away from the terrible smell.

She looked up, horror filling her face. She knew that voice, and those faces - Aunt Jenny was always in a terrible mood for days afterwards whenever they came to call. Two women stood in the entrance to the alleyway, sneering even as their eyes sparkled with excitement and hunger. One of them was short and blonde, the other one tall and brunette. But they were both looking at her the same way her daddy looked at fish fingers and custard - hungrily. That made her nervous enough. It only got worse when she realized that it wasn't her they were staring at - instead, they were staring at the large blue box behind her.

“That's it.” One of them said under her breath. “The box. The blue box. Its him.”

“Hello!” the Time Tot said, trying to keep her voice from showing how scared she really was. She knew all the stories about these women - her father had told them to her before the first time they came to visit the Paternosters. She hadn't slept for a week after that. But they were after her daddy, and she wasn't about to let that happen.

So now, as all those horror stories were drawn to the front of her brain, she did the only thing that she could think to do that wouldn't end with them possibly shooting her. She started talking.

“What are you doing here?” she asked them, trying to look as innocent as possible. Wide blue eyes stared up at them, trying to remember every bit of information that she had on the current leaders of Torchwood.

“This is where we live, child.” Miss Holroyd said, tilting her head as she looked at the four year old with interest. “The real question is, what are you doing in Cardiff? I recognize you, of course - you're that child that hangs around Madame Vastra’s residence in London.”

“I’m here…. with Madame.” she quickly lied. Her hands wrung the skirt of her dress, wrinkling the fabric beyond repair. “We're on holiday!”

Unfortunately, they didn't seem to buy what she said. Both Miss Holroyd and Miss Guppy turned to look at each other, small smiles crossing their faces. 

“I think you need to come with us.” The blonde said, stepping forward to rest a hand on Catherine's shoulder.

“No thank you, actually.” Catherine replied, smiling apologetically. “I'd rather stay right here.”

That didn't seem to go over well with them. Miss Holroyd pulled out a pistol, the click of the hammer being pulled echoing ominously. “I think you need to come with us.” she repeated.

“Alright!” She said, her smile gone. “There's no need to be pushy…” the four-and-a-half year old huffed, pushing a stray curl out of her face as she was led away. 

_Meanwhile, in the TARDIS…_

The Doctor and River had been about to follow Catherine out of the TARDIS when the door slammed shut behind her. That - and a stubborn hum from the Old Girl - was all it took to have the two parents on high alert.

The Doctor ran over to the monitor, while River started to frantically type in commands, cursing under her breath. 

“What’s going on?” The Doctor yelled, frustrated. “Catherine’s out there!”

“Doctor, we have to get out there.” River said, running towards the doors as fast as she could - which would have been a lot faster if her dress hadn’t kept tripping her up.

“Damn this thing!” She cursed once she finally reached the TARDIS doors. She began to pull on them frantically, trying to get them to open with all of her might. Even with her Human-Plus strength, they wouldn’t budge. “Doctor, the TARDIS is panicking. Why is she panicking?”

“I don't know!” He was panicking as well, the TARDIS was sending him a mauve alert through their bond, getting louder by the second - he could only imagine what she was bombarding River with. There was a hint of sorrow as well, but also acceptance that took him a moment to figure out. When he did, he paled. The TARDIS had taken them off course, to Cardiff instead of London - she had known that this was going to happen. But according to her, whatever was going to happen had to happen in order to keep the timelines intact.

The Doctor was still standing at the console, checking the monitor every few seconds as he pressed buttons and flicked switches, trying to get the screen to show him what was happening outside. Finally it did, and he couldn't help the curse that fell from his lips. 

“Sweetie?” River asked, her voice steely calm despite her obvious worry. “What is it?” she hurried up the steps to stand next to her husband.

The Doctor was only able to get one word out, he was so panicked. “Torchwood.”’

“What?” River gasped, the slightest hint of fear showing on her face as she moved towards the console to join her husband at the monitor. Sure enough, two of the original members of the Torchwood Institute were standing in front of their little girl. Judging by the looks of surprise and hatred on the women’s faces, they weren’t sure what they had found when they saw the TARDIS. They just knew it was alien.

There was a tiny part of his brain that was screaming at him to move, but the rest of him was locked up in fear. This was what he had been afraid of - the chances of them being able to save their daughter was extremely low. Of course, that wouldn't stop them from trying.

Once Catherine had been dragged away by the women, he finally pulled away and moved over to his wife.

“River -” he began, but she ignored him, choosing to yank on the doors instead. Finally, the Doctor had to physically pull her off of the doors to get her to listen.

“River, its too late!” He said, struggling as he tried to keep a hold of her. “She’s gone.” He admitted, and that was when River finally stopped struggling.

“We have to get out.” she said, her voice thick. “We have to save her.” 

But the Doctor shook his head. “We can’t - the TARDIS is in lockdown.

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The two women dragged her through the streets of Cardiff, sending threatening looks to anyone who looked like they might dare to intervene. Once they got to the base, Catherine took in as much of it as she could while trying to keep from moving too much - she didn't want to excite the trigger-happy women. It was dark and dirty, all concrete and once-polished metal. Strange machines cluttered up the different workstations - she saw at least one game that she played with whenever she went to her friend Keira’s house. It was odd to see the little machine in this time period - a bit like seeing a twenty-first century mobile phone in Ancient Egypt.

A man sat at one of the desks, fast asleep.

“Freak!” Miss Holroyd yelled, throwing something at the man. “Wake up!” 

The man spluttered awake. “Wha…?” He yawned, stretching as he looked up at the two women and the little girl that they were holding at gunpoint. He had dark hair, and bright blue eyes. Despite the fact that he was here, with Torchwood, she still trusted him. There was something about him that seemed almost familiar, like they had met before. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked, practically jumping out of his chair. “That’s a _kid_!”

“Take her to one of the cells.” Miss Guppy commanded, and the man snorted. 

“I don’t work for you.” He responded automatically, and Catherine smiled at his words. If he didn't work for them, there was a chance that he would be willing to help her escape.

“Do it, or you’ll end up in one of the cells instead.” Miss Holroyd said, shoving the Time Tot in his direction. She cried out softly as she stumbled, but managed to catch herself right before she hit the ground.

That’s when the man moved forward, and she saw a flash of recognition in his eyes before his face settled into a hard mask.

“Fine.” He bit out, and moved forward, grabbing her shoulder and hauling the child to her feet. She started to struggle against him as he led her away, but he just squeezed her shoulder slightly. 

“Stop it.” He ground out, and she listened, remembering what her father would tell her:

_The best way to find out what’s going on is to get yourself caught._

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He led her down two flights of stairs before they reached the cells. Once they were out of sight of the Torchwood ladies, he relaxed his grip on her, but they didn't stop moving.

“You smell funny.” She said, still moving even though she was walking as slowly as she could. “Like my mummy does.”

That made him stop. The only thing that he ever really smelled like was his fifty-first century pheromones. He hadn't asked the Torchwood Terrors anything, having quickly learned that knowing their victims’ fates really only ever made things worse for him. But he knew this girl, even if she didn't know him. What he hadn't known was that her mother was apparently from the fifty-first century, which begged the question - what was she doing in the nineteenth?

Finally, they stopped. Catherine took a look around, confused. They were standing in the middle of a hallway, but the nearest door was several metres away. 

“What are you…?” she began, but trailed off when the man knelt in front of her.

“Hiya, kiddo.” He said, giving her a big grin. “Sorry about earlier. Captain Jack Harkness, at your service. You’re Jenny’s niece, aren’t you?”

“How did you know that?” she asked him, crossing her arms over her chest. He had to stifle a laugh at the picture she painted - arms crossed over her chest and an eyebrow cocked, she looked so familiar but he just couldn't place who she reminded him of.

“Jenny’s an old friend of mine. We run in the same… circles, if you catch my meaning.” he laughed. “I’ve seen you around Paternoster Row, although your aunt usually makes sure I’m not around you. For some reason, she thinks that I’m a bad influence.” He winked, before growing serious once more. “What’s your name, sweetheart?” 

“Why should I tell you that?” She asked, wondering just how much she could get this man to reveal about himself. “You work for Torchwood.” She spat out the last word, and he flinched like she had punched him.

“Well…..” He admitted, “Just enough to pay the bills.”

She considered him for a moment. “Names have power.” she said slowly, and when he nodded she continued. “But I suppose you can call me Kitty. That's what Daddy calls me. I don't really like it, but he insists.” She couldn't help the eyeroll that accompanied her words.

Captain Jack Harkness laughed at that - a deep, infectious laugh that had her smiling as well. “Alright then, Miss Kitty. Let’s get you out of here.” He took her hand in his, leading her down the corridor.

“What are you doing in Cardiff, anyways?” He asked, looking down at her. Her hand was cooler than most, but he assumed that that was because of the freezing cold tunnels.

“Mummy and Daddy were taking me to visit Aunt Vastra and Aunt Jenny.” she told him. “I think we got a bit muddled on the directions, though.”

“I’ll say.” The Captain laughed, before pausing. “You said you were with your Mum and Dad?”

She nodded at him. “Mmhmm.”

“But Vastra never mentioned your parents…” he trailed off, confused, as he pulled the grate off of a cooling duct. “That’s the sort of thing that she would have mentioned, but she didn’t.”

“Its just that a lot of people don’t like Mummy and Daddy.” she explained, letting the captain hoist her into the tunnel. “So they don’t talk about me much. But that’s okay, because they love me lots.” 

She climbed a few feet into the duct, before turning to look at the Captain. “Are you coming?” She asked him. She didn’t really know him all that well, but she had already grown attached to him - there was something about him that almost seemed to glow with life. 

But he shook his head. “Sorry, sweetheart.” He said. “But someone’s gotta make sure that those two don’t remember ever running into you.” He gave a sad smile, before forcing it away, replacing it with a bigger - although obviously fake - one. “Now go on!” He said. “Go find your parents.”

She nodded, giving him one last smile before turning and crawling away. 

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Once she found her way out of the secret underground base, it barely took her any time at all to find her way back to the alley where the TARDIS was parked. Luckily the blue box was right where it had been, because she had no idea what she would have done if it wasn’t there.

She knocked on the door gently, wincing slightly as she did - she was still a bit nervous about doing that, as she didn’t want to hurt the ship since she was alive and all - and it swung open automatically.

In the middle of the room was a sight that she would never be able to forget. Her parents - the heroes and villains of fairytales, the saviors and destroyers of universes - were sitting on the floor, wrapped in each other's arms. She couldn't see her mum's face - it was hidden by her ridiculous mane of hair - but she could see her dad's. He was pale, his face drawn like someone had just told him that They looked up when the door opened though, and as soon as they got over their initial shock, they were running over to pull me into a hug.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” Daddy said. “We tried to come after you, but the TARDIS wouldn’t let us out.”

“Are you okay?” Mummy asked as she fussed over me. “Did they hurt you? How did you get away?”

She hugged them back, relishing in the feeling of safety that came with being wrapped in her parents’ arms. “Its okay, Daddy, I’m fine. No, they didn’t hurt me.”

“How did you get away from them, sweetheart?” The Doctor repeated his wife’s question, and his daughter huffed at him. 

“Well I was going to tell you, Daddy, but you kept talking.” she said, and River couldn’t help her tearful laughter even as the Doctor whispered, “She’s got your temperment.”

“A nice man helped me!” she told them excitedly, and both of her parents froze, giving each other worried looks.

“Sweetie,” River said slowly. “Didn’t we teach you not to talk to strangers?”

“Yes.” she nodded, with all the exasperation that a four and a half year old could manage. “But he wasn’t a stranger. He knows Aunt Jenny.”

“Well, did he tell you his name?” The Doctor asked her, still worried. 

Catherine pulled away from her parents, running up to one of the jumpseats that surrounded the console. “Yup.” she said as she scrambled up onto it. 

“Well what was it?” River asked, sounding impatient even as she settled on the seat next to her daughter. There was no way that she was going to let the little girl out of her sights for at least the next two days.

“He said it was Captain Jack Harkness.” Catherine replied, missing her mother's smirk and the way her father went pale. “Mummy, Daddy, can we please go tell him thank you for helping me?”

But the Doctor didn't reply - he just stormed over to the console and started flicking switches, while River kept smirking at him. 

“No. No we can’t.” the Doctor said crossly, sending them into the Vortex. 

“Why not?” His daughter asked, her head tilting slightly to the side as she studied him.

“Because,” the Doctor said, glaring at his wife as she tried her hardest to keep from bursting into laughter, “Mummy and Captain Jack should not be on the same _planet_ as each other, let alone in the same room.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time - sorry :(

The Doctor and River Song had decided to keep their little family together for a little bit longer after the incident with Torchwood. They had been traveling, of course - going to planetary bazaars and museums, looking for quiet adventures to go on. 

Finally, however, River got tired and requested one day where they didn’t have to do any running. So they were having what they affectionately referred to as ‘lazy Saturdays’, no matter how many times the Doctor told them that ‘its not actually a Saturday, Rivah. You can't just call it a Saturday and hope that you're right.’ Of course, she just smirked at him in reply.

“We’re in the Vortex, my love.” River pointed out with a wide grin. "All of time at once - technically its always Saturday." That had been several hours ago - Catherine had been working on learning to use her Time Sense, and while she hadn't managed to get it down to the very minute yet, she was getting better and better every day.

She had no idea where her parents had gotten off to, and she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to know. She had been watching Frozen - the version with the Caulfraxians - but got bored and stopped the movie halfway through. She sat there, kicking her legs against the couch for a minute before a smile crossed her face as she thought of something to do.

She decided to go exploring for a bit, to see what sorts of rooms were stored on the TARDIS. Her mother had warned her that it was easy to get lost inside the TARDIS if you didn't know what you were doing. She had told Catherine not to go exploring on her own, but she was working on the book that she had been writing for the last few years - Catherine wasn't sure what it was called, only that it made her mum cry a lot. So she decided to leave her mum to her writing and go explore.

She started to walk through the halls, occasionally opening a door to see what was inside. Her daddy said that the TARDIS was infinite, but she had always thought that he was just being silly again. He did that a lot, in her opinion - like whenever he said that bow ties were cool, or tried to get them to eat fish custard. She passed by all of the rooms that she already knew - her bedroom, the console room, the library, the kitchen, and the wardrobe - but she occasionally stopped inside of rooms. There was one that had a huge telescope in it, one that had a big swimming pool in it, and far too many others. She got so excited that she stopped paying attention to where she was going, just picking corridors at random and walking down them.

Hours passed before she got bored of looking at all of the rooms. She left the room she was in, deciding to go back to the media room and finish watching Frozen. It was only when she was halfway down the corridor that she realized something - one of her biggest fears had come true.

She was lost in the TARDIS.

Before she completely lost it, the Old Girl gave a soothing hum. She sent a wave of reassurance over the Time Tot, making her smile softly.

Catherine walked over to the side of the corridor, resting her hand against the cool surface of the wall. “Will you help me?” she asked, her voice wavering slightly. The TARDIS let out a soft hum in reply - her way of saying _yes, of course._

Then the lights dimmed, except for the ones in the corridor to the left of the Time Tot. Those lights flashed three times in a row before turning on completely.

“You want me to follow the lights?” Catherine guessed, placing a hand against the wall. The lights flashed again, only once this time.

So she followed them, keeping one hand pressed against the wall. After that first left, there was a second right, then a third left before going straight ahead. Then the lights led her under a staircase, past the bins, and then they stopped outside of the fifth door on the left. 

She stopped, taking a moment to look over the door. The Doctor had always warned her to be careful on the TARDIS, because there were some rooms that were dangerous for her to go into. 

She examined the door carefully. It looked like just a regular door - big and wooden, with a big lock on it. But it was unlocked at the moment, so she fought with the handle until it opened. The door creaked as it slowly swung open, and she shivered.

The room was rather dark, with the sole source of light shining from the back of the room. The front of it was all shelves, stuffed with all kinds of things. She only saw some of them, as she was still too short to see up high. She started to make her way through the shelves, wanting to see the light in back, because that’s where her daddy probably was.

She made her way down the rows, running the tips of her fingers over the musty objects that sat on the shelves. There was a blue star made out of fabric, an old handheld radio, several hat boxes…. She practically squealed with delight when she saw what was, in her opinion, the prettiest dress ever. It was on a clothing mannequin, and had a long white skirt that fell to the floor, with a poofy bodice and poofy sleeves until the elbows, where it became tight once more. It looked a bit like a tea dress that one of Madame Vastra's clients might wear. She looked at it for a minute longer, before moving on. Soon she saw more clothes - a bomber jacket that was covered in pins, and several other random pieces of clothing. Then she found something very cool - a crystal ball, polished to a shine. Her mummy had shown her one before, on the planet Ar’ni. She had said that if you looked into one, sometimes you could see the future. 

So she did. Only instead of seeing the future, she saw three women. One of them was very pretty, and had long auburn hair, but the other two were terrifying. Catherine screamed as she dropped the ball and backed up, then screamed louder when she bumped into something. She spun around, ready to run for her life but relieved to see that it was just her daddy. He scooped her up into his arms, and she buried her head in his shoulder, breathing in the scent of tweed and time.

“Hey, sweetheart.” The Doctor said softly, pressing a gently kiss to the top of her head. “What’s the matter?”

She was so scared, she couldn’t even reply - she just pointed at the crystal ball . She felt her daddy tense up when he noticed where she was pointing, and then he started stroking her hair as he carried her back to where he had been sitting before. 

“Oh, Mira, I’m sorry sweetheart. Those creatures are a nasty piece of work, aren’t they?” he asked his daughter, holding her close to his chest. The double-beat of his hearts soothed her enough to get her to relax her grip on his arms, nodding slightly. Then she realized what he had called her. She could feel her face scrunching up in confusion as she looked up at him. She knew that he had called her that before - usually when she was scared or in trouble - but she had never understood why. 

“Daddy, why do you call me that?”

He looked confused for a moment before he understood. “Why do I call you Mira?” he clarified, and she nodded. “Because, sweetheart, it’s short for your Gallifreyan name. Like how TARDIS is short for…” he trailed off, promoting her to finish.

“Time ‘n Relative Dimension in Space!” She said, smiling when he tapped her on the nose.

The Doctor walked back over to the desk with his daughter in his arms, settling her in his lap when he sat down. It was covered in layers of clutter and dust - things like pictures and clothes and books, and even a little TARDIS covering every inch of the surface. Then she recognized one of the people in the pictures, and smiled.

“Or like how Amy is short for Amelia?” She asked. She felt bad about it only a few seconds later because of how heartbroken the comment made her father look. He smiled when she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she could. “‘M sorry, Daddy.” she whispered, burying her face in his neck. “I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“It’s alright, Kitty.” he said, wrapping his arms around her. He kept his eyes trained on the picture - it had been taken at Space Florida by a tourist. In it, the four of them - Amy, Rory, River and him - were laughing. His arms were wrapped around River while Amy was holding onto both her daughter and her husband, trying to keep from falling over in her laughter.

Her attention was pulled away from the picture when her eyes landed on a wall of drawings and photographs, and she climbed off of her daddy’s lap to go and look at them.

They were all very pretty, and most of them were of people, except for a few. Catherine was able to recognize some of them - pictures of her Mummy, Aunt Jenny and Vastra, Nan and Granddad… but there were other ones that she didn’t know. Like one of a blonde girl in a pink shirt with glowing yellow eyes, or of a big head in a jar. Or of a girl in a green shirt with a blonde ponytail, or a dark skinned woman in a red jacket. There were pictures of the TARDIS console room, but it looked different. There was even a picture of a forest, but it didn’t look like any that she had ever seen before. This forest had red grass growing everywhere, and the trees had silver leaves that glinted in the light of the twin suns.

“Daddy,” she asked, looking around curiously, “Who are all of these people?”

He looked over to see what she was looking at, before getting up from his desk and walking over to stand behind her. “These are all different people that traveled with me.” he said softly, crouching down so that they were on the same level. “There’s the Ponds, your Aunt Jenny, and Madame Vastra, see?” 

“Yes, but who are the other people?” she asked impatiently, pointing at the other images.

“They’re… old friends of mine.” the Doctor said softly. “They used to travel with me.”

“Will you tell me about them, please?” she asked him. For a moment it looked like he was going to say no before he gave in.

“Oh, alright.” Daddy said. “Which one do you want to hear about first?” he asked me.

She pointed to the picture of the blonde girl in green. “That one, Daddy!” She said, looking up at him. He looked sad for a second, but hid it behind a smile.

“No, not her.” He disagreed, his fringe flopping into his face as he shook his head. “What about your Aunt Sarah? I can tell you loads of stories about her. One time, we -”

But Catherine shook her head, sending her curls flying. “No, daddy.” She said, scrunching up her nose. “I want to know about her.” She pointed at the picture of the blonde in combat boots and a military green t shirt.

He sighed. “That, sweetheart, is your sister…” he began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can name which companions had which items, let me know! Anyone who gets them all can ask for a story from me (a chapter of Catherine’s life that they want to see, or something completely new) in exchange!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Sarah Jane so much, there was no way she wasn't going to be in this.

River sighed, putting down her phone. She had to go on an expedition for at least a week, and the Doctor wasn’t picking up. She had tried Vastra, but the detective was currently working on a case that was far too dangerous to have Catherine around for. She might have just skipped ahead to after they were finished with the case, but they had promised long ago to keep to a relatively linear timeline between visits - if it had been a month since she had last visited, then they would arrive at 13 Paternoster Row a month after their last visit. 

That left her with the third option on her list. She quickly memorized the coordinates that they would need, programming them into her Vortex Manipulator.

“Are you ready, Catherine?” She asked her daughter, fighting to keep her nerves out of her voice. This would be the first time since their Torchwood mishap that the pair would be separated, and she was more than a little bit worried. Catherine smiled at her mother, curls bouncing as she held out her arms for her mother to pick her up.

“Yes, Mummy.” her daughter said, giggling slightly as she was swung up into her mother’s arms. River had both of their overnight bags - bigger on the inside, of course - on one arm and her daughter in the other, and so it took a bit of maneuvering to reach the buttons on her Vortex Manipulator. Finally, she managed to get her finger to the correct button.

“Hold on tight, sweetheart.” She warned her daughter. Catherine nodded, wrapping her arms around her mum's neck until she could barely breathe from the pressure on her windpipe. It took a second or two, but once she was able to breathe again she pushed one last button and sent them into the Vortex.

8888

Sarah Jane Smith couldn't help the combination of elation and sadness that weighed on her heart as she drove up Bannerman Road. She had just left the Doctor again - hopefully not for the last time. But her oldest friend had been right, she needed to move on with her life. There was plenty to do on Earth that had nothing to do with aliens - she didn't need them, and especially not one in particular.

Of course, that didn't stop the surge of adrenaline that ran through her when she nearly drove into someone who appeared in the middle of the road in a flash of static.

The person in the road whirled around, fear on their face as they tried to protect whatever it was they were holding. Sarah Jane slammed on her brakes, wincing at the squeal that they made but at the same time not caring if it meant that she didn't hit the strangers that appeared in the middle of the road.

She was out of the car as soon as it stopped, running over to check on the stranger. “Are you alright?” she asked, eyes narrowed as she took in the woman. Having nearly run them over with her car or not, they were still in possession of alien technology. The stranger's head was nothing but a mass of fur, but the rest of their body looked human enough to pass. Then the stranger straightened, and Sarah Jane started.

What she had thought was fur covering their face was actually a mass of incredibly frizzy blonde curls - two masses of curls, she recognized, upon seeing the child cradled in the woman's arms.

“Hello.” The woman said, smiling as she adjusted her grip. The child in her arms - Sarah Jane guessed she couldn't have been older than six or so - wrapped her arms around her mother's neck, watching the brunette woman with icy blue eyes. Her mother kept a tight hold on her, and the reporter in her took a moment to catalogue them both. The woman had a round face and a sharp nose with a small bump in the middle, framed by ancient green eyes. She wore knee-high brown boots with thick soles, tan jodhpurs and a dark brown shirt with a low neckline. There was a holster strapped to her thigh, and Sarah Jane pursed her lips when she saw the gun sitting there, and turned her attention to the little girl instead.

She had the same curly hair as her mother did in a slightly lighter shade, but her blue eyes seemed almost familiar. Child-sized combat boots were on her feet, the rainbow laces peeking out from under the hem of her jeans. She wore a dark blue tshirt with a picture of the planets in party hats, with the words ‘how do you organize a space party? You planet.’ emblazoned on the front.

“I know you!” The girl said, her face lighting up in excitement. “You're my Aunt Sarah!”

“Sarah Jane.” She corrected, a bit harshly. It was habit after years of people trying to shorten her name, but she felt a hint of guilt hit her when her tiny face crumpled. Then she processed the first part of what the tiny blonde said, and she blanched. “Actually, I think you might have the wrong person. I don't have any nieces - especially not ones with access to teleport systems.” She turned around to head back to her car, when the woman said two words that made her freeze in her tracks. 

“Time travel.” 

Sarah Jane spun around, not quite sure that she had heard correctly. “I'm sorry?” She asked politely, even as her mind spun with questions.

“It's not just a teleport.” She said, showing off the leather strap wrapped around her wrist. “It also travels in time. Although our usual transport is a lot more… blue.” she drew out the last word carefully, a hint of laughter in her eyes.

If she didn’t know the Doctor as well as she did, she might have guessed that this woman was a future regeneration of his. But even if that could happen - and she wasn’t entirely sure that it could - the Doctor would have given themself away after only a few words, not have drawn things out this long. So that left the question of who they were.

“Right then.” Sarah Jane said, giving a decisive nod before turning around and heading back to her car. “I think you'd better come with me.”

8888

Sarah Jane Smith lived at number 13 Bannerman Road - a red brick house with three floors and a large garden in the back. Catherine looked around excitedly, but stopped when she heard a strange sort of beeping coming from the boot of Sarah Jane's car. 

“What's that?” She asked, reaching for the handle. Sarah Jane turned around, her eyes going wide. 

“No, stop!” She called out but it was too late. Catherine had opened the boot, revealing the retro-looking robot dog inside.

Catherine squealed, loudly enough that the lights across the street flickered on and a neighbor stuck their head out the door. Sarah Jane sent them a quick smile, and they rolled their eyes, muttering something about the ‘mad old woman’ before going back to bed.

Catherine hadn't even noticed them, too entranced by the dog who seemed to be preening under her cuddling. “He's so cute!” 

“Please be careful.” Sarah Jane warned. She had just gotten her dog back - she didn't want anything to happen to him. 

“I know.” She said, smiling up at them. “What's their name? He's obviously not from this time period - that's a kind of retro design that won't be around until,at least the forty-second century.”

“Forty-fifth, Catherine.” Her mother corrected, coming over to run her hand over his head, scratching behind his ears. “See the detailing on that panel?” She groaned when she realized what she said. “Listen to me, I’m starting to sound like your father.”

Catherine giggled before sending Sarah Jane another curious look. “So what's his name?”

“K-9.” She finally answered, smiling as she looked at her dog. 

“Can I play with him while you and my mummy talk?” Catherine asked, her head tilting to the side slightly.

“Just be careful, please. That's my dog.” Sarah Jane warned again.

“Yes Aunt Sarah.” She said absently as she helped K-9 out of the boot.

“She'll be fine, Ms. Smith.” The curly-haired woman said, although she did send her daughter a stern look. “And she'll be very careful with K-9, won't you Catherine?” 

“Yes Mummy.” Catherine said, a slightly guilty expression on her face. “We'll be in in a minute, I promise!”

Sarah Jane sent them one last worried look before she led the curly-haired woman inside.

8888

“Now then.” she said warmly, although her voice had steely undertones to it. Her cup clinked against the table as she set it down, “Who are you, and what do you want with the Earth?”

“Nothing!” The little girl said, her eyes wide with innocence. She looked up from where she sat on the floor, playing with K-9. They had followed the two women inside after only a few minutes, with Catherine claiming that it was scary outside. “Earth is my favorite!” Both women turned to smile at the girl before turning back to each other. Sarah Jane did her best to look unconcerned, while the other woman just looked amused at the entire situation. It had been years since she had last attempted to intimidate anyone outside of an interview, and now she tried her best to channel that.

“You don’t know why we’re here?” The woman asked, lifting a brow.

“Should I?” Sarah Jane countered.

A look of understanding crossed the curly-haired woman's face. “Ah.” she said delicately. “You haven't met us yet. That does complicate things.” She smiled at the other woman, holding out her hand. “Professor River Song, archaeologist. This is my daughter, Catherine. And I believe you know my husband.” Her confusion only grew as Sarah Jane’s expression became more guarded. 

“Your husband?” Sarah Jane echoed. The other women could see the wheels turning in her head as she attempted to put the pieces together.

Catherine tilted her head to the side before jumping out of her chair. She moved around the table until she stood in front of Sarah Jane. Sniffing the air for a second, it only took her a moment to lean in and lick her blouse.

Instantly, she pulled away, sticking her tongue out and scraping at it with the palm of her hand as she made little grossed-out noises. Sarah Jane just looked at her in surprise, while River sighed. “How many times, sweetheart? We don't lick people, its rude.”

“But Mummy,” the girl said, sounding excited. “Aunt Sarah just saw Daddy!”

“How do you know?” River asked, raising an eyebrow. She wasn't asking to be condescending - instead, it seemed like she was trying to get her daughter to explain her process.

“She tastes like time… and that really gross cologne… and… chips?” the last part was a guess, but judging from the look on Sarah Jane’s face, she was right. 

“How did you…” Sarah Jane began, but her face went pale as all the pieces began to fall into place. She took a step backwards, practically falling into her chair.

“Penny in the air…” River said, and Catherine giggled, flouncing back over to cuddle K-9. She seemed endlessly fascinated by the K-9 Mark IV unit, much to his delight.

“The Doctor’s daughter.” she breathed out the last few words like it was taboo to think them, let alone say them.

“And the penny drops.” River smirked, taking another sip of her tea. 

8888

“So you’re the Doctor’s… wife?” Sarah Jane asked River incredulously. She just laughed.

“Yes, I know.” She said. “He’s not exactly the type to settle down. Luckily for him, neither am I.” 

That at least got Sarah Jane to smile slightly, despite her shock. “I can tell that.” 

She put down her cup, settling back in her chair. Now that she knew the truth, it was strange to think that she hadn’t realized it earlier - although it did make her wonder what had happened to Rose Tyler. It seemed strange when she remembered that it had only been a few hours since she had left the obviously infatuated Doctor with Rose Tyler, and now she sat across from the Doctor’s wife. She seemed to be almost the opposite of Rose Tyler - mature and dangerous instead of young and sweet, but they both shared a sense of wanderlust that was nearly visible.

“Lovely to meet you both.” Sarah Jane said as she pulled herself out of her thoughts, motioning for River to help her with the dishes. She made sure to quickly check on her daughter before following the brunette woman into the kitchen, but the tot was still captivated by K-9, giggling every time he said anything. Not that River could blame her, really - he was adorable.

They talked for a little while longer, while Catherine played with K-9. River told Sarah Jane about her Doctor, and Sarah Jane told her about hers in return. Then, they finally got to the real reason behind their visit.

8888

“I was hoping that you wouldn’t mind looking after Catherine for a day or two. Normally I would leave her with some friends of ours, but there was some trouble the last time she stayed there, and so we’re trying to stay away from that time period until she’s older.” River told Sarah Jane, smiling apologetically. “I just need you to watch her until I get back from an expedition that I have been warned is fairly dangerous. I should be back before her birthday, but…” she trailed off, muttering under her breath, “and I had so hoped to get a version of you who knew who we were…”

Sarah Jane looked slightly terrified, but determined. “It’s no trouble at all, Professor.” she assured the other woman. “Any friend - or more than friend, as the case may be - of the Doctor’s is a friend of mine. Besides, I’ve handled some of the worst monsters in the universe - how much trouble could a five-year-old be in comparison?”

River raised an eyebrow even as she reached back to pile her mane of curls into a ponytail. “You have met the Doctor, haven’t you?” she replied, only partially teasing. 

“Are you sure you want me to take care of her, Professor?” She asked, looking nervous. “I don't have much experience with children - surely a nanny would be better suited…”

But River was already shaking her head. “I don't think so.” She laughed. “Maybe if Catherine wasn't our daughter. But I need someone to watch her who I know can handle a Time Lord's particular brand of insanity.”

Sarah Jane nodded. “Which is why you need a companion.” She said, and River smiled.

“Exactly.” 

Once they had finished working out the details, River called for her daughter. The Time Tot came running downstairs, nearly tripping over herself twice on the way down.

“What is it, Mummy?” she asked, pushing her curls out of her face as she caught herself. River couldn’t help the tiny smile that made its way onto her face - there were times that Catherine was so much like her father that it almost hurt.

“You're going to stay with Sarah Jane for a few days, sweetheart.” she told her daughter, kneeling down so that they were on the same level. “Is that alright?”

She nodded, but looked worried. “What's wrong?” River asked her, frowning slightly.

There was a moment where Catherine kept her eyes trained on the floor, scuffing “You're coming back, right?” she asked her mother softly. Sarah Jane and River shared a look of confusion, wondering where the question had even come from, before turning their attention back to the more pressing issue.

“Of course I'm coming back!” River told her daughter, pulling her into a hug. “Why on earth wouldn't I be coming back?” 

“Because I had a bad dream last night where you didn't come back home.” Catherine whispered the words so quietly that it was almost like she didn’t say them at all. She looked up at her mother, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

River tried to console her as best as she could, while trying to process this new information. Although, it did make how clingy she had been make more sense. Other than being distracted by K-9, Catherine had barely left her side for the past week.

“Shh, it’s alright, angel, everything’s fine.” she whispered as she ran her hand through her daughter's messy curls. “Mummy will be fine. I promise.”

8888

It took a bit of time to get Catherine to calm down completely, but the two women managed it eventually. She fell asleep in one of the spare rooms, completely exhausted but still curled around her little Adipose plush.

“She should sleep til morning.” River told Sarah Jane, smiling softly at the sight in front of her. K-9 had parked himself in a corner of the room with a direct line of sight to the door. She whispered, “Good dog.” As she shut the door behind her, smiling when she heard his slightly muffled reply.

“Affirmative.”

She headed back down the stairs to the kitchen, where Sarah Jane was sitting at her kitchen table. She had already changed into her pajamas, and just had her housecoat wrapped around her. 

“I guess I'll be off then.” She said awkwardly, standing just inside the kitchen door. “Just… be careful. She might look young but she's got the mind of someone five times her age. Don't give her aspirin, or ginger. She'll sleep through the night, but only if she doesn't nap during the day - if she naps she'll only need a few hours of sleep at night. She has her Adipose - the Doctor got it for her and she refuses to go anywhere without it, so keep a close eye on it. She once forgot it on Aldirun, and tried to pilot the TARDIS on her own to get back.”

Sarah Jane laughed despite herself at the nervous way that River Song was rattling off her list of last-minute reminders. 

“We'll be fine, Professor.” Sarah Jane said confidently. “After all, what could go wrong?”


	7. Chapter 7

Catherine woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar room to the sound of the telly playing and a kettle whistling. She was about to start panicking - in her experience, waking up in unfamiliar places was almost never a good thing - when a robotic voice brought back her memories of the night before.

“Greetings, mistress.” A wide grin crossed her face as she slid out of the tall bed, doing her best to keep from tumbling onto the floor.

“Good morning, K-9!” She murmured, walking over to pet the robotic dog on the head. She was only a few inches taller than he was, she noted, pouting slightly. There was a rather large part of her that couldn’t wait to grow taller and tower over everyone like her Daddy did. But then, she mused sleepily, she would be too tall for her daddy to pick her up and throw her in the air. She never wanted that to happen.

She headed down the stairs, rubbing a hand over her eyes as she made her way to the kitchen. Sarah Jane was already there, reading the paper as she waited for the kettle to boil. “G’morning, Aun’ S’rh.” she mumbled, yawning as she sat down. She set her Adipose on the table next to her, pillowing her head on her arms with her hair acting as a cushion of sorts.

8888

“So, Catherine,” Sarah Jane began after a bit, sitting down at the table with a mug of tea clutched in one hand. She tried to remember the last time that she had dealt with small children for an extended period of time. Sadly, she couldn’t think of a single one. “What sort of… activities do you like to do?” she asked, and the little Time Tot just stared up at her for a moment.

“I like to do ‘sperimen’s.” she said quietly, sounding slightly more awake as she looked up at Sarah Jane nervously. The last time that she had done experiments with a sitter, she had gotten into loads of trouble with her parents for it.

The older woman looked shocked for a second, although she wasn’t sure why she was. Both of the versions of the Doctor that she had traveled with had been fond of experiments, although her first Doctor had been far more fond of it than she would have liked at times. “Sorry, but I don’t believe that I have anything that you would be able to work with.” 

“Tinkering, Aunt Sarah.” Catherine corrected, sounding exasperated. Sarah Jane wasn’t sure what was more amusing - how irritated she sounded, or that it sounded exactly like something her father would say. “Daddy says its called tinkering.”

“Of course.” Then she got an idea. “There’s a park nearby. Why don’t we go there, instead of staying cooped up inside all day?” she asked. 

Catherine thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Okay!” she said happily.

Sarah Jane nearly sighed in relief as Catherine dug into her breakfast - burnt bacon and slightly raw eggs, but it was still better than most of her attempts at cooking turned out. At least that went well, she mused. Hopefully the rest of the week would be so easy.

8888

Of course, nothing could ever be that easy.

Everything was fine at first - they went to the park and Catherine started to play with a group of children that Sarah Jane mostly recognized as kids that lived on Bannerman Road. Some of their parents had been wary at first when they saw ‘the mad woman’ outside with a child that none of them knew, but once Sarah Jane explained why Catherine was staying with her, they warmed up considerably. Catherine ignored all that, leading the other kids around the park as she shouted something about the Slitheen. Sarah Jane wasn't quite sure what a Slitheen was, but it didn't sound very pleasant. Catherine had insisted that K-9 had to join them at first, but once Sarah Jane had explained that robotic dogs weren't something that existed in this century, she agreed to leave him at home to protect him.

It was after a few hours in the park that things went wrong. Sarah Jane was sitting on one of the park benches when she saw one of the few people in the world of journalism that she didn’t like, but still had to contact every once in awhile - Mr. Roderick Barrett Bone. He was everything that she hated: self-centered, narcissistic, and willing to tell whatever story was wanted, as long as people were willing to pay enough. And on top of that, he had somehow convinced himself that Sarah Jane was in love with him.

“Sarah!” the man in question called out as soon as he saw the woman, making his way over to where she sat.

She sighed, already fighting to keep her temper in check. “Mr. Bone, how many times do I have to tell you? My name is Sarah Jane.” 

He just laughed, as if she had said something rather adorable. “So Ms. Smith, what brings you here?” he asked, sitting down next to her and slinging an arm over the back of the bench. She tried to subtly move away from him, but didn't want to set him off. There was something about the man that she didn’t trust - something other than his inability to understand the word no.

Sarah Jane was just about to answer when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She looked over at the playground just in time to see a blur of blonde fall out of a tree. The group of children that had been hanging onto her niece’s every word ran before she even had a chance to hit the ground, none of them wanting to be caught at the scene of the crime.

“Catherine,” she muttered, practically jumping out of her seat. She was up and running before the Time Tot even had a chance to start crying. 

“Are you alright?” she asked the young girl, falling to her knees as she checked her over for injuries. In the back of her mind, the small part of her that hadn’t been taken over by blind panic was marveling at how fast the Doctor’s daughter had wormed her way into her heart.

The girl sniffed softly, her tears drying up as she nodded. Her blue eyes caught sight of something behind her aunt, because they widened slightly before narrowing into slits. A tiny smile curved the edges of her mouth, and Sarah Jane almost groaned, recognizing the mischief in her eyes.

“Aunt Sarah!” she suddenly wailed, throwing herself onto Sarah Jane’s lap. “It hurts!” 

A small smile played across Sarah Jane’s face when she heard the small sound of surprise from behind her - it was obvious that Mr. Bone had followed her. Then she dredged up the acting abilities that her years as an investigative journalist - as well as her years on the TARDIS - had given her. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” she said, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. “I’ll take care of you.”

That was when Mr. Bone decided to make his presence known. “What happened?” he asked, coming up behind the pair.

“Aunt Sarah, who’s that?” Catherine asked, saving the older woman from having to come up with a convincing lie about what happened to make her niece panic like that without leaving a scratch. After all, a fall from that height should have broken her arm, but there wasn't a mark on her.

“This is a colleague of mine.” Sarah Jane said, looking back at Mr. Bone, who had managed to calm down enough to paste a smile onto his face. “Mr. Bone. Mr. Bone, this is my niece Catherine.”

Sarah Jane’s grin only grew as she heard spluttering behind her. She turned around, still cradling the young Time Lady in her lap as she looked up at Mr. Roderick Bone with as much innocence as she could manage at the moment - which, granted, wasn’t much, but it was still better than nothing. 

“Is something the matter, Mr. Bone?” she asked him, schooling her features into a polite mask. She had a feeling that she knew what he was thinking, but she still wanted to see exactly what he would say.

“You - you have a _child_?” he asked, and Sarah Jane could barely contain her amusement with the situation. Catherine had already broken out into little giggles that she wasn’t even attempting to hide, much to Mr. Bone’s dismay. He shot her a nasty look in the split second that Sarah Jane's back was turned, making her stop laughing almost immediately.

“No, this is my niece.” she repeated, projecting as much irritation into her voice as she could. It really wasn’t that hard to do - he had clearly heard Catherine call her ‘Aunt Sarah’ at least once. It was obvious, however, that the Time Tot wasn't a fan of the man just from the way she clung to the waistcoat that Sarah Jane wore. 

But she stuck out her hand anyway, like she had seen her mummy do hundreds of times when meeting new people - or meeting people that she already knew, but wanted them to think that she had forgotten. Then she forced a smile on her face - her daddy had always told her the importance of smiling even if you didn't like someone. Unless they were Daleks. Or Cybermen. Or if they had traveled to one of the fifteen planets in the solar system where smiling was seen as a declaration of war.

Other than those times, he would say, you should always try to smile.

Mr. Bone took her hand in his, and it was in that moment that Catherine first learned one of the downsides of belonging to a telepathic race. As soon as they touched, she could hear his thoughts - just the surface ones, but that was enough.

_Gorgeous… Sarah Jane… get rid of… kid has to go… mine_

Hundreds of other thoughts flew through his head - he didn't even realize that he was thinking up most of them, really. Catherine pulled away as soon as she could feeling more than slightly unsettled.

“Catherine?” Sarah Jane called out, shaking her niece slightly. She had seemed to almost go into a trance ever since she grabbed a hold of Roderick Bone’s hand. “Catherine, are you alright?”

“Aunt Sarah.” She replied, her voice shaky. The former companion had a feeling that this was one of the few times that she sounded her age, and that worried the woman more than anything else that she had seen since returning to Earth after traveling with the Doctor. “I want to go home.”

Sarah Jane Smith prided herself on her ability to assess people - it was part of what made her so good at journalism. Just in her brief time around Professor River Song, she knew that the woman was the Doctor's equal in perhaps every way except for emotionally. So it hadn't surprised her at all that so far, their daughter was as much of a whirlwind as her parents were. Seeing her like this reminded her of just how young she really was.

“If you’ll excuse us,” Sarah Jane said. “We need to leave.” she quickly gathered her things and set Catherine on the ground, taking the four-year-old's hand in hers.

“I'll come with you.” Roderick Bone said quickly, standing up and shoving his hands into his pockets.

“No!” Catherine practically shouted, turning to face the man. “You can't have Aunt Sarah, and you're not getting rid of me.” She spat the words out, tiny hands balling into fists as she stared him down. “That's not how it works!”

Sarah Jane stared at her niece, completely shocked. “Catherine, what are you talking about? Of course I'm not getting rid of you, don't be ridiculous!”

“That's what he was thinking, Aunt Sarah.” She said earnestly. “I heard him.”

His face contorted into an ugly sneer. “How could you have possibly known that? What are you, some kind of freak?” He snarled, backing away from the girl.

“That's enough.” Sarah Jane snapped, her hand tightening around her niece's even as she glared at the other journalist. “Come on, Catherine.” she turned to smile at her niece. “How does ice cream sound?”

Catherine smiled up at her aunt, still a little worried. “He's not coming with us, is he?” she asked, her voice wavering slightly. 

Sarah Jane shook her head. “Oh no.” She reassured the girl. “He’s not invited.”

8888

“How did you do that - how did you know what he was thinking?” Sarah Jane asked her niece as they started to make their way out of the park.

The time tot was suddenly extremely interested in her shoes - a pair of pink and green plimsolls - and her aunt narrowed her eyes. “What did you do?”

She looked up at her innocently - which of course didn’t fool the former companion for a second. The Doctor had been fond of giving her that same look whenever he had done something that he knew she would never approve of.

“It wasn’t my fault!” she quickly protested. “Some people think really loudly, an’ I tried not to listen, I promise! But I shook his hand, and…”

“And it just happened.” Sarah Jane finished for her, understanding the issue. “It’s alright.”

Catherine smiled hesitantly. “Really?” she asked, her smile growing wider when Sarah Jane only nodded in response. “Perfect.”


	8. Chapter 8

Nearly a week had passed since that first visit to the park, and Catherine Song was still staying at Number 13 Bannerman Road with Sarah Jane and K-9. They were all beginning to get a bit restless. Sarah Jane was getting restless because she didn't want to take the Doctor's daughter along with her on any potentially dangerous journalist assignments - while she had decided to go back to saving the Earth again, she hadn’t had any chances to do so yet. Because of that, she had stuck to writing fluff pieces for the past week, and it was starting to drive her mad. 

Meanwhile, Catherine was getting restless because she wanted to go on an adventure. Even at five years old, she hadn't gone this long without at least having to sit in a jail cell on one planet or another since she was two. Even when her parents had tried to settle down in order to keep her out of trouble, they hadn't been very good at it. Luckily, they were both about to get what they wanted - an escape from their boredom, at least for a few hours. 

8888

Catherine was down for a nap - even though she was a Time Lady, she was still a child, and because of that, she tired easily. Not to mention how Sarah Jane had found her and K-9 still wide awake at three in the morning, examining a crystal that a geologist friend of hers had sent her. After that, she had only slept for about two hours before waking up for the day.

Sarah Jane was using the time along to sit up at her desk in the attic, finishing up her latest article. She was nearly done when there was a knock at the door. 

K-9 came whirring into the room, hovering a few inches above the floor. “There is someone at the door, Mistress.” He said

The journalist huffed, looking at her article in frustration. As nice as it was to have someone else in the house with her, it also meant that she had less time to spend working. At this rate she would never actually get this article finished, she mused. “Good dog, K-9.” She said absently, patting him on the head as she got out of her chair.

“I'm coming, I'm coming!” she called as she hurried down the stairs, intent on answering the door before her visitor had the opportunity to knock again and possibly wake Catherine up. 

She didn't bother to check who it was when she opened up the door, figuring that it must have been someone she knew. “What is it?” she couldn't help but snap.

“And what sort of greeting is that, hmm?” a deep voice said, and Sarah Jane's face split into a wide smile.

8888

Catherine woke up slowly, although she wasn't sure why at first. It was too early for her to be done with her nap, but something wasn't right.

She rubbed at her eyes as she tried to collect her thoughts. Something in the house had changed in the hour or so since she had fallen asleep. She needed to figure out what it was. Her first thought was to ask K-9, but when she turned to the corner where he usually sat while she slept, he was gone.

Catherine closed her eyes, extending her range on her other senses. She could feel the earth turning underneath her, hear K-9 rolling around downstairs somewhere...

There. Blue eyes flew open as she figured out what it was that was bothering her. There was something extra in the house. The smell of cigars and coffee - faint, but still there, and coming from the sitting room. Then there was the extra sounds- the tap of a cane, the clink of china, and the hearty laughter of her Aunt Sarah. 

Laughter meant that all was well, the young Time Lady noted. But then why didn't Aunt Sarah come and get her? The few times that there had been guests since she had arrived - only once in the week, but it still happened - Aunt Sarah had always gotten her to introduce her to them, even if she was napping. She slipped out of her bed and pushed her frizzy blonde curls out of her eyes before sneaking down the stairs, making sure to step lightly so that the wooden stairs didn't creak. She stopped in the doorway to the sitting room, and peered around the edge of the doorway, only to pull back immediately when she saw someone looking straight at her.

“And who’s this little one?” bellowed a man’s deep voice. It was louder than she had expected, making her jump slightly in surprise.

Catherine gulped, before stepping out from her hiding spot. 

Sarah Jane smiled at her, but she was too busy studying the man to really notice. She calmed down slightly when she saw K-9 next to the man, and the relaxed way that Sarah Jane held herself -she knew that Sarah Jane had enemies, just like her parents did. If they both trusted him, then everything was okay, she reasoned.

The first thing that she noticed was that he held himself like her mummy did - like he was ready for anything to happen. However, he still looked very kind, even though he was obviously some sort of soldier. She just wasn’t sure what kind - he didn’t dress like a soldier, at least not like any that she’d ever seen. He was too old, for one thing. Instead of a uniform, he wore khaki trousers, and a red sleeveless jumper over a white collared shirt and under a plaid tweed jacket. A cane was resting against the sofa next to him, and an ascot cap sat on the seat. The only reason that she knew what an ascot cap was was because of her Daddy’s hat collection in the TARDIS.

Her mummy liked to use it for target practice sometimes.

“Hello there.” the man said, smiling at her. “And what’s your name?”

“Oh, Sir Alistair, this is Catherine, my… niece.” Sarah Jane said quickly. Despite how easily the four-year-old had slipped into her life, she was still getting used to having a niece. “Catherine, this is an old friend of mine, Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.”

“Hello there, young lady.” Sir Alistair said, smiling down at her. 

“You already said that.” She informed him, but then her face lit up as she realized exactly who he was. “I know who you are!” she said excitedly, practically bouncing on the spot. “My Daddy tells me stories about you. And Mummy says that you're absolutely amazing!”

Sir Alistair chuckled, not quite sure what to make of the girl in front of him. “Oh really?” he asked. “And why is that?”

This time, Catherine looked as solemn as a child possibly could, but anyone could see the mischief twinkling in her baby blue eyes. “Because you worked with my Daddy for so long and you didn't even try to shoot him once. Mummy says that makes you a saint.”

The Brigadier couldn’t help but burst out in laughter at that, and even Sarah Jane had to work to hide her laughter. Inside, though, she was panicking. If the Brigadier found out who Catherine was… she stopped the thought before it could finish. She felt horrible hiding the truth from one of her oldest friends, but it was for everyone’s safety. Professor Song had explained to her about her past, and about the aliens and monsters that their little family constantly fought, just like she had with the Doctor And even after her history with UNIT, she still didn't quite trust them with information that was this sensitive.

“By God, she reminds me of my Katie at that age.” He mused, a nostalgic smile crossing his face. His voice was soft, like he hasn't expected for them to hear him.

“Is that so?” Sir Alistair asked, going back to a normal volume. “And who is your father, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Before she could say anything in response, though, Sarah Jane had cut her off with a sharp look.

“Catherine, would you be a dear and take K-9 outside? He could use the fresh air.” Sarah Jane asked. The Brigadier looked at Sarah in surprise - she 

“He's a robot, Aunt Sarah - he doesn't need air at all.” Catherine huffed. “I want to stay here and listen to stories.”

She let Sarah Jane help her into her coat before sending her out the door with K-9 rolling along behind her.

As soon as the door closed behind the strange pair, the Brig turned to his old friend. “I wasn’t aware that you had any siblings.” he said nonchalantly. Of course, they both knew that what he meant was that he knew that she didn’t. UNIT was very thorough when it came to the personnel files of anyone who ever traveled with the Time Lord known as the Doctor.

“I don’t.” Sarah Jane said, giving the Brigadier a teasing smile. “As you are well aware.”

“Then who...?” Lethbridge-Stewart asked.

“She’s...” Sarah Jane paused, unsure. Professor Song had said not to tell anyone about Catherine - there were too many people even just in this time period that would do anything to get their hands on the Doctor's daughter. But, she reasoned, if she couldn't trust the Brigadier then she couldn't trust anyone. “She's the Doctor's daughter.” She rushed the words out. “Now where were we?”

“I believe that we were talking about the Zygons…” The Brig said, slightly in shock but still managing to answer her question. He earned himself a nostalgic smile and a harried expression. 

“Oh, yes!” Sarah Jane said happily, trying to distract him from the subject that had come up. “The Loch Ness Monster!” 

But now the Brigadier had been distracted by the appearance of the young Time Lady, trying to figure out which incarnation she looked like. He wasn't sure which features came from her mother, either - although that was a strange thing to think about as well.

“The Doctor's daughter, eh?” Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart asked, his voice nearly an awed whisper. “I can hardly believe it! Who would have ever thought that the old man would ever settle down!”

“I don't believe that he has.” Sarah Jane said, laughing. “It's just like I told you, Sir Alistair - her father is an old friend of mine. I wasn't lying to you.” she said, a small smile creeping across her face.

The Brigadier rolled his eyes, admitting defeat without saying a word. “Those clothes of hers -” he said, referring to Catherine. She had been very determined to pick her own clothes out that morning, and had finally decided on a chartreuse striped shirt with a blue denim skirt and bright purple leggings, along with a matching purple scarf and hair bow. Sarah Jane had tried to talk her out of it, but the young Time Lady was even more stubborn than her father was. 

“What about them?” Sarah Jane asked, her amusement coloring her tone. She had a feeling she knew where the Brig was going with this, though- after all, he had known the Doctor for even longer than she had. 

“Well, its just that its the sort of thing that one would expect the Doctor to pull together.” the Brigadier said with a knowing smile. “After all, the old chap was known for his knowledge, not his clothing choices.”

Sarah Jane laughed. “You're absolutely right!” she giggled. “You should have seen his latest look - 

She realized what she had said when Sir Alistair gaped, leaning forward slightly. “You’ve seen him? You've seen the Doctor?”

She started to answer, but couldn't get a single word out before she heard shouting.

“Aunt Sarah! Aunt Sarah!”

Sarah Jane turned around to look at the rambunctious five-year-old that had just burst through the front door.

“Yes Catherine, what is it?” she asked, feeling slightly worried. It could have been anything outside - she had tried her best to put aliens behind her no matter how often she had ‘accidentally’ stumbled onto alien-related adventures when chasing down stories. But now, after spending the past week chasing yet another Time Lord around, she had felt more like herself then she had for the past twenty years. That was what made her realize that by trying to limit herself to terrestial adventures, she had been putting a damper on herself as well. Not to mention, she thought wryly, that the universe seemed determined to throw as many aliens her way as it could. It was past time for her to stop avoiding them, and to fully embrace her role as a Defender of Earth.

It was her niece’s next words that pulled her out of her thoughts for the future. “Mummy’s here!” she cheered, and Sarah Jane quickly got up off of the sofa.

“Where?” 

A familiar, throaty voice said, “Right here.” 

Professor Song walked through the door, and Sarah Jane nearly gasped in shock. Her hair was loose, and more wild than even Catherine's could get after an afternoon at the park. Her makeup was done to perfection - smokey eyes and red-painted lips - and a black gown that shimmered with every step she took.

“Sorry,” River sighed, running a hand through her curls. “I didn't have time to change back. The trip went a little longer than I'd planned, I’m afraid. Not to mention my expedition turned into a rescue mission.”

“Oh, you look lovely!” She gushed, making her way over to the other woman. But once she got closer, she could see tiny signs of trouble that one usually associated with the Doctor - her hair was singed, her skirt was slightly tattered and streaked with ash, and there was a large blaster gun strapped to one leg, barely visible except through the slit in her dress.

River gave a half-hearted smile in reply. “Thank you.” she said, before crouching down so that she was face-to-face with her daughter.

“Why don’t you go upstairs and pack your things, sweetheart? That way Aunt Sarah and I can talk for a bit, alright?” she asked. Catherine nodded, before thundering up the stairs to the bedroom that she had been sleeping in.

Sarah Jane laughed. “I swear, she can sound like a herd of elephants when she wants to!” 

River’s response was a barely there smile, before practically throwing herself down and the couch and putting her head in her hands. 

“What’s the matter?” Sarah Jane asked, looking concerned.

River answered without even looking up. “I met the Doctor.” She sighed.

“That's a little obvious, going by the state of your dress.” Sarah Jane said, and River let out a mirthless laugh. The journalist narrowed her eyes - there was more to the story than what she had been told, that much was obvious. “What's wrong with meeting him?” 

“He was so young… he barely knew me.” She said, and when she looked up, Sarah Jane could see the barest hint of tears in her eyes. That worried her more than anything that the woman had actually said - she didn't know River Song that well yet, but she was sure that she wasn't the kind of woman to cry easily. “Every time I see him, he's getting younger and younger. One of these days he won't know me at all.”

“What am I going to do?” she mumbled, before looking up to ask for Sarah Jane’s help. That was when her eyes landed on the other person in the room. “Oh, hello there. Sorry about the interruption.” she said, holding out her hand to the man. “I’m Professor River Song - Catherine’s my daughter.”

The Brig took her hand, giving her a warm smile. “Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.” he said, and his smile grew a bit when she gave him a small smile of recognition. “Ah, so you’ve heard of me then?”

“Of course.” River told him, her eyes twinkling. “My husband loves talking about his old friends - and stories about you are some of my favourites.”

“Is that so?” he asked. “And your husband is the Doctor?” 

Instantly, her demeanor changed, although most people wouldn’t have seen the difference. Her voice was cold as she replied. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

The Brigadier looked completely stunned by her words “What? But Sarah Jane said…”

Luckily, River caught on quickly, and her face cleared into a smile. “My apologies then.” she said simply. “I lied. Have to do that on occasion - you never know who might be coming after my family. We’ve been lucky so far - the worst we’ve run into is Torchwood.”

The Brig’s face darkened, although Sarah Jane just looked confused. “Sorry?” she asked. Her brow furrowing slightly. “What’s Torchwood?”

“Torchwood,” the Brigadier practically spat, “Is the worst sort of organization that one might ever stumble across.”

River leaned forward slightly, fixing Sarah Jane with a chilling look. It wasn’t designed to intimidate, but to let her know that the next words out of her mouth were just that important. “Torchwood is an organization that was founded by Queen Victoria after meeting the Doctor to combat what she referred to as ‘phantasmagoria’.

“Their main enemy,” Sir Alistair said gravely, “is the Doctor himself.”

Sarah Jane’s eyes widened almost immediately as she realized what exactly that meant. “You said that you've run into them.”

Just then, the girl in question came clattering back down the stairs, dragging her bag along behind her. River shot both of the other adults a warning look 

“I’m ready, Mummy!” she called out. River got to her feet, pasting a smile onto her face, where there had been nothing but pain and fear moments earlier. 

“Alright, my love, let’s go then. Your daddy is waiting for us.” she said warmly, before turning back to the other two adults for a moment. “We really must do this again some time - only with something a bit stronger than tea.” she said, giving them a wink as she collected her daughter in her arms. “I don’t know about you, darling, but Mummy is exhausted.”

“Will you tell me everything?” Catherine asked, looking oddly excited as she played with a singed curl of her mother’s hair.

River nodded, a spark of amusement in her eyes as she tapped her daughter on the nose. “Of course, sweetheart. But you'll have to wait until we get home - your daddy wants to hear everything as well.”

The little girl huffed, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “You and Daddy will be too busy making kissy-faces to tell me anything.” she complained.

Both Sarah Jane and Sir Alistair blushed at the combination of Catherine's words and the smile that spread across her mother's face. They could practically see the yellow feathers caught in her teeth, Sarah Jane mused.

“You'll hear the story, my love.” River Song said even as she tapped the coordinates for Luna in the fifty-first century into her Vortex Manipulator. “Before daddy takes us on the next adventure, I promise. Now say goodbye to Aunt Sarah and Sir Alistair, please. We need to go home so I can wash all the soot and sand from my hair.”

Catherine turned, waving goodbye just as her mother pressed the last button that had them disappearing in a flash of light and static.

“If that is the Doctor's wife,” Sir Alistair said slowly, a wry grin spreading across his face, “I get the feeling that things are very interesting for him these days.”

8888

It was a few days later when Catherine finally got up the nerve to ask her father the question that had been on her mind ever since her second day on Bannerman Road. 

“Daddy?” Catherine asked, her voice so quiet that for a moment the Doctor thought he had been hearing things. It was bedtime, and he had just finished telling her a story - while they both knew that he didn’t do the voices as well as River did, but she had insisted on having him read the story.

“What is it, Kitty?” the Doctor asked, turning slightly to face his daughter.

 

“You won’t leave me and mummy behind, will you?” the fear in her voice nearly broke his hearts

He laughed incredulously, crossing over to the bed and crouching down beside his daughter. “Of course not, Kitty!” he said, tapping the bump in the middle of her nose. Her face scrunched up like River’s did, and he laughed again - this time a happy laugh. “What would make you think of such a silly question, eh?” he asked softly.

“You left Aunt Sarah behind.” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to hear it, I promise, she was just thinking so loudly one night that I couldn't help…”

He couldn’t help his small sigh as he realized what must have happened. Either Sarah Jane had been sleeping and his daughter had curled up next to her while the human was asleep and she had caught part of a dream, or her aunt had been telling her one of their past adventures and the thought had flitted through her head. “I promise that I will never leave you behind, Mira.” he said solemnly.

“But what if I get lost?” she asked, still sounding far too worried for his peace of mind. “What if you can’t find me?”

“In that case,” he rummaged around in his coat for a moment. “This is for you.” he pulled a round golden medallion out of an inside pocket of his tweed jacket. One side of it was etched in circular markings like the pocket watch that she had found hidden away underneath the console. She flipped it over, carefully studying the other side. She recognized the words etched into the back - it was her name, Catherine Amelia Song, written in Old High Gallifreyan. He fastened the chain around her neck, tucking the pendant into her hand as he kissed the crown of her head. “As long as you have it, I will always be there. And I will always, always find you.”


	9. Chapter 9

“But I want to wear a princess dress, Daddy!” Catherine said, doing her best pouty eyes even as she stomped her feet. Her father groaned almost silently even as her mother smirked. She shot him a look as if to say _she takes after you, my love._

“What if we have to run, hm?” He asked, tapping her on the nose. “You won't be able to run in your pretty dress.”

She gave a wide grin, practically bouncing over to her closet. She rummaged around, sending things flying behind her - a pair of ballet slippers, some dolls, a toy doctor kit and an Andalasian hoverboard. Finally she stood up, holding a pair of black boots with rainbow-coloured laces triumphantly. “I can run in these, daddy!”

“Alright, alright.” he said, trying his hardest not to laugh at the ridiculous puppy eyes that she was giving him. “Off you pop, Kitty. Go get dressed.” she nodded once more before running off to the wardrobe room, determined to find the perfect princess dress.

“I’m impressed.” River said, her voice low as they made their way to the console room. 

“By what?” The Doctor replied, keeping his voice equally low. They walked next to each other, their fingertips brushing occasionally as they moved - not entirely by accident.

“How well you handled that little situation.” River clarified. “A few more seconds and that would have been a full-blown meltdown.”

He looked at her nervously, not sure if he actually believed her for a minute until he saw the deadly serious expression on her face. “Welcome to the world of five-year-olds, my love.” she laughed, as they made their way into the console room. They sat in the jumpseat, curled up together as they waited for their daughter to arrive, both of them silently grateful that they had this time together.

They jumped slightly when Catherine came running into the console room, dressed in the frilliest dress that she could find. The tops of her boots peeked out from under the hem of her skirt, with layers of tulle holding out the blue skirt sprinkled with glitter. “I'm ready!” She announced, smiling widely as she showed off her dress. Her mother cooed over her dress, telling her how lovely she looked, and that yes, the toy gun she picked out matched her dress perfectly. 

“What do you think, Grandmother?” Catherine asked, looking up at the console. She had recently learned that the TARDIS was sentient and could fully communicate with her, and now took every opportunity to talk. The Old Girl hummed gently, brightening her lights slightly. Catherine beamed. “Thank you.” She said quietly, placing a hand on the edge of the console.

“Right then.” the Doctor said, drawing their attention back to him. He couldn't help his smile as he pulled the TARDIS doors open. “Geronimo.”

8888

Catherine was the first out of the TARDIS, trying to see everything around her so quickly that she spun in circles until she was dizzy, the sparkly skirt of her dress twisting around her. There were so many things for her to take in - languages being spoken, species walking by, smells in the air, the cacophony of voices and machines and traders selling their wares. 

It was exhilarating. She couldn't help but remember what her daddy had told her just that morning - that she had already seen more of the universe than most Time Lords did in their entire lives. She scrunched up her nose at the very thought of staying on one planet for her entire live. The universe was too big for that, she decided. She was never going to be stuck anywhere.

She turned around, determined to tell her parents about the Big Revelation that she had just had. But then she stopped. 

Her dad was outside the TARDIS doors, leading her mother out by the hand and smiling up at her as though she hung the stars while she took in their surroundings. River Song waltzed through the cosmos on stilettos as if she owned every last speck of stardust, and it was moments like these that made her daughter realize why. It was easy to have the confidence to do anything when you already had stardust and honey and hope running through your veins - the kinds of things that just came hand in hand with a love like that. But her little brow furrowed slightly when he stopped looking at her like that the moment that she looked at him again.

She looked at him the same way - with a sort of carefree abandon and tender care mixed into one that didn't make sense until it did. Like she couldn't believe that someone was foolish enough to see all of her demons and flaws - and at least love her in spite of them, if not because of them.

In that moment, Catherine Amelia Song knew that she had never seen two people more in love - and for some reason they seemed to be hiding it from each other.

She would have to fix that, she decided. But it was only seconds later that the TARDIS intervened. Sending feelings of wait, patience, love, and trust, the TARDIS managed to get her message through - it wasn't time yet for them to know. They would find out someday, but it wasn’t going to be today, or anytime soon.

8888

The small family made their way through the marketplace, taking in everything around them. Catherine’s dress shed glitter with every step she took, leaving a sparkling trail and irritated beings wherever they went.

“What are they saying, Mummy?” Catherine asked, pointing at a pair of purple humanoids that seemed to almost glow. They floated a few inches off of the ground, purple tentacle-like appendages floating delicately behind them, moving as they talked.

“They're talking about what they're planning on buying today, and what they're going to do for their son's birthday.” her mother replied, smiling softly as she listened in on their conversation.

“But why can't I understand them?” 

This time her father answered. “Its the TARDIS - she's turned off her translation circuits for now.”

Catherine pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. “What did she do that for?” she asked, looking confused. “I can't understand anyone.”

“We'll start working on different languages when we get home.” River noted, running a hand absently through her daughter's hair. “We can't have you relying on the TARDIS all the time.”

Catherine huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “But languages are so hard.”

Her mother couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her daughter’s whining. “Darling, you learned to shoot almost every gun in my armory in a fortnight. Learning a new language shouldn’t be that hard.”

The Doctor spluttered as he froze, staring at two of the girls in his life in shock. “When did you learn how to do that?” he asked faintly

“Early birthday present.” River explained, twining her fingers through her husbands’ - it wasn’t a gesture that they made all that often, making them treasure it even more when it did happen.

“‘m gonna be six soon, Daddy!” Catherine said, her face lighting up. Both of her parents just looked at her in shock for a moment, as if finding it hard to believe that their little girl was growing up.

“Yes you are!” Their daughter couldn't help but giggle when she saw the familiar glint in her father's eyes. It was the sort of fondness mixed with determination that only ever meant trouble in one form or another. He adjusted his bow tie, smiling a bit cockily. “Well then, I suppose I’ll just have to do better then mum at presents, eh?”

Catherine nodded, giggling as she gestured for her father to pick her up. He did as she asked, settling her on his hip even as he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “Come on then.” he said, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the roar of a passing hoverbike. 

They made their way through the crowds, the two adults watching the way their daughter explored everything with barely disguised glee. She watched as her mother haggled for jewelry and weapons and her daddy tried to convince her to buy a hat. She laughed at the performance that a group was doing - some sort of comedy involving two different groups of people fighting.

“Where are we, daddy?” Catherine finally asked. It was hours later, and they had found a small restaurant that served some sort of fruit that tasted a bit like fish. They had found an open spot not too far from both the TARDIS and the marketplace where they had spread out a blanket and were enjoying a picnic.

He leaned back slightly, reaching up and pulling on one of River’s curls - watching as it unwinded and then sprung back into place. “Where do you think we are?” he returned, raising a non-existent eyebrow at her. “Use your senses, Kitty.” he coaxed. “What are they telling you?”

Catherine closed her eyes, focusing in on her surroundings. This was something that they had been practicing recently - using all of her Time Lord senses. The little things - how fast the planet was turning, the pull of gravity, the stars above them, the atmosphere - all added up into the big picture of where exactly they were in the universe. She had been so disappointed when they started because she hadn't been able to figure things out right away like the Doctor did. He had just pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, reminding her that he had had millennia worth of experience already - he was over 1300 years old, after all. Instead, he suggested that she break it down into steps. Those steps would become easier and easier with time, until she could figure out where she was almost instantly.

Finally, she opened her eyes. “It’s an asteroid in a seven-planet system…” she trailed off, rubbing her foot against the back of her leg and nearly falling over in the process. “But I can't tell where exactly.” she giggled, 

The Doctor smiled at her, pulling his daughter close and pressing a kiss to her hair. “Excellent job, Song.” he praised. “You'll get it eventually.”

She nodded solemnly. “But where are we?” she pressed, looking slightly irritated. That was one trait that she had inherited from both of her parents - that thirst for knowledge and adventure that drove them both. 

“This is Tiannamat.” her father said, gesturing to the bustling city around them. “One of the biggest bazaars in this corner of the galaxy. People come from all over the system for the Festival of Offerings.” he pulled her down so that she was sitting in his lap, and she smiled as he pointed to another asteroid nearby. “See that asteroid, eh?” he whispered, and River shivered as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in closer.

“That one?” Catherine asked, and the Doctor shook his head. 

“Almost.” he said, moving her arm slightly to the left. “There.” both of his girls gasped when they saw the golden pyramid glinting under the light of Akhaten for the first time, and the Doctor let out a giddy little laugh. This was the part of traveling that he loved the most - showing other people just how amazing the universe was, and everything that was possible in it. Planets of pure ice and fire, fish that flew through the clouds, the song of the Ood, the apple-grass of New Earth - it was all out there, waiting to be explored.

“Come along, Songs!” he said excitedly, jumping up and pulling both his wife and daughter to their feet as well. “Adventure awaits!”

8888

He dropped them off at Luna later that evening, once Catherine had fallen asleep. For once, they had managed to have a quiet family adventure, one that didn’t include gunfire or explosions or running for their lives. But now it was time for the Doctor to leave again. 

As much as they wanted to stay together and travel the universe, they knew they couldn't. River had things to do in her normal life, and they had to keep their daughter on a regular schedule as well - they couldn't just take off and come back after a week only with a daughter that was several years older than she had been.

“Her birthday is in one week, and don't you dare be late.” River warned him. She carefully pulled him down for a kiss, being careful not to accidentally jostle the Time Tot sleeping in her arms.

“See you soon, Professor River Song.” he said softly, giving her one last smile before heading back into the TARDIS, closing her doors behind him. 

She waited until the TARDIS had completely disappeared from sight before she took so much as a single step. “You better.” She murmured in reply.


End file.
